Tending To The Titan Tower of Babel
by Maven Alazais
Summary: After almost failing a mission, a big fight causes the Titans to go separate ways. A year later, Raven, now having broken up with Beast Boy, will meet Cyborg and the two of them will decide to bring them all back together. Patching everything up, they realize they might have actually been two pieces meant to be put together from the start. CyRae with hints of RobStar.
1. Chapter 1

***A/N: So, lovely CyRae people, this is me, Maven Alazais, on my second CyRae fanfic! I will be trying a different approach to them, through group hardships and past relationships and stuff… If any of you have read my 'A Raven With Gears' one, thank you, firstly, for joining me again on here and please do not compare the two stories, they're different and well…this is just a fanfic I came up with due to my need to write something and an abundance of CyRae feels. I hope you enjoy this and, please, by all means, leave me a small review by the end of it, it will mean so much! Thanks for reading!***

**CHAPTER ONE**

It was a usual Friday afternoon at the Tower of the Titans. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, no alarms had sounded for a couple of days and everything went smoothly. The doors to the living room slid open and in glided Raven, her purple cloak slightly mopping the floor. Upon entering, she noticed Starfire casually chirping over Robin and Beast Boy with Cyborg lounging on the couch. Cyborg laughed his typical, loud laugh.

"Come on, Beastie, are you chickening out?"

"Hell no!" The shape-shifter said, clutching the video game controller. "If there's going to be a champion of this game, it's going to be me!"

"Don't get your hopes up, buddy! I'm un-beat-able."

"We'll see about that. Put up the stage's stats."

A videogame duel between this two usually took about…a couple of hours and Raven grew particularly agitated when she heard Beast Boy accept Cyborg's challenge. Silently as ever, she levitated behind the couch, just above Beast Boy's head and cleared her throat. The 'duelists' shot their eyes towards her and Beast Boy grinned awkwardly.

"May I have a word with you?" She asked, her coarse voice portraying her dismay.

"Um, sure!" Beast Boy replied, jumping up. "Wait a sec, Cy."

"Yeah…" Cyborg mumbled as Raven dragged his friend a couple of meters further.

"So." Raven said, getting straight to the point. "What's going on with the video game?"

"That? It's just a stage I need to win, no big deal, Raven."

"We both know that 'no big deal' takes long."

"Well, I can't possibly turn down the challenge, Rae!"

Raven arched an eyebrow and spoke sternly. "We had plans for tonight."

"Oh, we can do them later on! Or…I know! You can join us and cheer me on so I can win!" A goofy smile spread on his face.

"Oh, how wonderful." Raven said, blank-faced. "You sure do know how to keep me happy with something _so interesting _for me…"

Beast Boy's smile faded. "Come on, Raven. It's just a dinner date, we can have our dinner here together later! I need to beat Cy!"

"Gar, let me get things straight." She said, folding her arms. "You know I'm no social butterfly unlike our little Tamaranian Princess over there, but I still know that 'couples' like we're supposed to be need to have some…activities and be alone, outside maybe, and spend some time together."

"And we will do it, just-"

"When was the last time we ever got to do that?"

"Yesterday, we-"

"Talking for five minutes in the kitchen doesn't count."

"Okay, then, how about the other day, when-"

"Helping me restore my library after you accidentally brought it down in your rhino form doesn't count either."

"Oh don't be so difficult, Raven! Please!" Raven's eyebrow twitched at that sentence. "We will get to do everything, I promise, but I can't go back on Cyborg!"

"Like you can go back on our plans?"

"Why are you so stuck on a dinner anyway?"

"You don't get it, do you?!" Raven asked, obviously angry.

"Get what? That y-"

"You know what," Raven interrupted, "never mind. You go play."

With that, she turned around and moved away from him. Just before she was about to exit the room, she turned her head around and said "Good luck, Cyborg!"

"Ay, thanks, Rae!" He said, waving with his controller in hand, while Beast Boy reclaimed his seat.

"I hope you win." With that, she was soon outside.

Beast Boy laughed. "She's such a meanie!"

"You're sure you don't want to play this another time or somethin'?" Cyborg asked, frowning.

"Nah, man! Let's finish this now! I mean, it got unpredictable weather effects, it's going to be so cool!"

"Alright…" Cyborg said, pressing the button.

Although his friends had spoken in a low tone before, Cyborg's enhanced bionic hearing caught the most of the discussion. He was unaware that Beast Boy was to go out with Raven, otherwise he wouldn't have challenged him to the final level of the game. He didn't quite grasp why Beast Boy insisted on continuing the game; it wasn't like he wouldn't understand. He knew that couples are supposed to go out or spend time together and, really, he hardly ever saw the two of them together or doing anything at least. He really couldn't blame Raven for calling Beast Boy out on that, even though it did strike him is as peculiar to see her act out to something like that. He shrugged it off, though, thinking that couples have their own troubles and, well, anyone can act differently in a friendship and in a relationship; they're two different games, with different tables and different rules. Same players at times, but different attitudes.

And so, he focused on his racing; Raven hoped he won, he couldn't possibly let her down. He grinned and pushed the accelerator button.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Raven was in a state of pure confusion when she reached her sanctuary, her room. She fell on her bed face down and closed her eyes. It wasn't like herself to whine like that but she had been preparing for the outing for two days. It was just a dinner date, yes, but she was preparing just to be able to be cheerful for Beast Boy, since she was always characterized as gloomy most of the times and, well, seeing Robin being so happy with the ever-blissful Starfire made her think that maybe she should try being a bit more…breezy. But how could she possibly be more cheerful when the very person she was going to try for practically cancelled their plans for some game? And it wasn't the first time this had happened. She couldn't really recall the last time they did something as a couple. She was aware, of course, that they weren't exactly ordinary, but even Robin, somewhere between being the leader of the Titans and Batman's sidekick managed to find time to spend with Starfire and her weird date ideas.

She huffed and growled at her pillow. Maybe she was caring and trying too much? Or maybe not enough? She didn't know, but she grew furious at that precise moment, and all of her pillows were shot to the opposite wall in black magic orbs. Just when she was about to start meditating, the alarm sounded around the Tower. She half-smiled to herself, knowing she would get to channel her frustration somewhere else.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

With their heads hanging low, the five of them entered the living room and sat around the table. The silence was eerie and felt heavy; someone could have thought they could practically touch the tension around them. They all had their eyes averted, never crossing looks; Raven magically mended some of her scratches, Robin twirled his thumbs huffing, Cyborg observed the damage on his canon. Only Starfire's eyes jumped on to everyone's faces, trying to catch a glimpse of theirs, but failing.

Finally, some awkward moments later, Beast Boy lifted his head and sighed. "So…" He mumbled and, automatically, they all raised their eyes and shot unreadable looks to each other. "Are we going to keep ignoring the elephant in the room or what?"

"Not the time for animal puns, Beastie." Cyborg said.

"It's not a pun!" Beast Boy defended. "It's merely an expression…"

"So, are we?" Raven said.

"Are we what?" Cyborg asked.

"Going to ignore it."

"No." Robin said. "We're going to deal with it, right now."

"Well, then, to put it gently, today's mission…sucked!" Cyborg said, obviously bothered.

"Subtle." Raven commented, raising her eyebrow.

"Friends, please!" Starfire called. "Let us keep our calm and discuss peacefully."

"Let's take things one by one, then." Robin said, passing his fingers through his wet from sweating hair. "The only good thing is that it was, in the end, a success."

"By accident." Cyborg said. "If that guy hadn't messed up, it would have been a total failure."

"You…don't know that for sure." Beast Boy said, lifting his eyebrows. "We were just a bit…loose today."

"No, we were totally uncoordinated." Robin said. "As if we've never even worked together before! What happened anyway?!"

"I'll tell you what happened!" Cyborg asked, his frustration decorating his vocal tone. "We faced an enemy we had no knowledge of, and suddenly our so-called leader lost his mind!"

"What?!" Robin said. "_I _am to blame for this? You've got to be kidding me!"

"The orders you gave us were the least bit useful!"

"They were orders though, which all of you messed up!"

"Yes, because we didn't know how to work on them, hello?" Beast Boy said, taking Cyborg's side.

"This is outrageous! They were simple!"

"Yeah," Raven said, "because when three guys hold lethal weapons we've never seen before and fire at innocent people inside a mall, the first thing that comes to mind is 'stall them' and not 'take them out immediately'…"

"I had my reasons!"

"Mind sharing them?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin sighed deeply. "I needed to disarm them."

"Uh? What?" Starfire said, followed by the wondering looks of the rest of the Titans.

"Their weapons had traces of Apokolips technology. Some other specimens have been found in other raids around the globe but it's too complicated for us to decipher how it works and we needed every specimen we could get."

"'We' as in…you, Bats and the League?" Cyborg said.

Robin looked down. "Um, superheroes in general."

"We're superheroes too, but you didn't bother sharing that information with us, did ya?"

"I planned to write a report."

"When?" Beast Boy asked.

"Have you even bothered with the team updates lately?" Raven said. "I can bring up at least three new facts about the team and our villains included in our status report that I bet you don't know."

"What is this, a pop quiz? Really?!" Robin said.

"You're being defensive, thus proving my point." Raven said austerely.

"This is ridiculous! The only issue here is that you couldn't follow the orders and messed the plan up!"

"_We _messed it up?!" Cyborg said. "Oh, that's rich! We only tried to save the innocent people that were there, remember?"

"They would have targeted us, not the people, if we got in their way!"

"But they appeared to target the people, Robin!" Starfire said. "What if someone got injured?"

"No one would have gotten hurt, you should have listened to me!"

"How can you guarantee that?" Beast Boy said. "And you can't blame us! We didn't know what those weapons could do!"

"So you had to go all T-Rex and bring the whole mall down, uh?"

"It was the only way I could withstand the hit!" Beast Boy defended. "I needed to shield the bystanders and survive somehow!"

"Fine." Robin said. "What about you, Raven? What was with all that brunt?!"

"Are you going to accuse for being strong? That's a new." She replied.

"Strong? You were vicious! You could have taken the guy down with much less, but went all out instead!"

"He survived, didn't he?" She said coldly. "Get over it."

"I told you I wanted him to look fine!"

"What was that for, really?"

"A new...technique I wanted to try, to test the attackers."

"A technique we've never rehearsed before at the training rounds…"Cyborg said.

"I just recently got familiar with it myself."

"And you didn't bother to share with us either." Beast Boy said.

"Hey, why are all you attacking me now? It's not like it was a one-man mission! I can pinpoint at least five strategic battle mistakes you all made!"

"Oh, preach, mister flawless!" Cyborg said and there, Robin lost it.

***That was the first chapter, folks! Not much CyRae action yet, but there will be some soon! I hope you enjoyed it, or at least you want to read some more! I hope I'll update soon and sorry for any unnoticed typos!***


	2. Chapter 2

***Hello dear readers! Thanks for following-faving-reviewing! It means the world to me to know what you're thinking! I'm a sodding mess today and didn't go to Uni, so I figured I could write this chapter while I linger in my bed… I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reading!***

**CHAPTER TWO**

Robin swiftly stood up, pushing his chair back and banging his fists on the table, giving Starfire a small heart-beat-skip.

"You're all ridiculous! You can't blame me for your failure to follow simple orders! I would have given you more details afterwards, if you hadn't gone all berserk and did whatever popped up in your heads!"

"Please remain tranquil, Robin…" Starfire pleaded lowly, but was ignored, as Beast Boy stood up as well and pointed a finger at Robin.

"At least we didn't jeopardize the lives of five hundred people for the sake of some…whatever weapons!"

"I wouldn't expect _you _to understand their importance, Beast Boy!"

"Whoa, whoa!" Cyborg intervened. "Hold on a sec, 'cause if we didn't know their 'importance', it was because _you _didn't feel like sharing!"

"And even if they were important," Raven asked, "were the lives we luckily saved less significant than them?"

"We could have saved both! That's what I'm trying to tell you but you just won't listen!" Robin shouted. "I had a plan, I had it all thought through and you ruined it!"

"A plan with a strategy we've never rehearsed before, remember?" Cyborg said, lifting an eyebrow.

"Was that reason enough for you to be so random in the battlefield, instead of drawing the guys' attention to you?"

"You say it like it was easy!" Beast Boy said. "They were to terrorize and shoot at the bystanders, for crying out loud! There was no time to do that!"

"We could have pulled it off if Raven, for starters, hadn't turned one of them into a messy mix of blood and flesh!" Robin said, shooting a mean look at the sorceress.

Raven pursed her lips and spoke through her teeth. "I bet the little girl who saw the gun pointing at her appreciated me being between her and the gun's ray!"

"Ra-"

"Robin, I was angry, and you all sure as hell know what I'm capable of while I'm angry, so at least acknowledge the fact that I left that prick alive!"

"When I had specifically told you I needed him to look alright!"

"What for?!" Raven said, growing more agitated. "So he can look pretty while you put your Batman-inspired interrogation techniques to use?"

"We could have used his body to manipulate the other two!"

"Unless you got master-of-puppet skills, Boy Wonder," Cyborg said, "that would have never worked."

"They were in freaking masks! They wouldn't have noticed his closed eyes. Some telekinesis on his hands and there you have him, moving the way we want him to!"

"You wanted _me _to move him around?!" Raven said, finally getting up as well, as the cloth of her cloak shook around by some stray magic currents.

"I've seen you throw barrels around, I bet you can keep him standing for some meters!"

"Barrels and a moving human are two completely different things! And if you had come up with that ingenious strategy before, why on Earth didn't you ask me to practice it?"

"I didn't have the time to plan the exercise round properly."

"You don't seem to have enough time for many Titan stuff recently." Cyborg said.

"That's unfair!" Robin cried.

"Unfair how?!" Beast Boy said. "You're our leader and the last time we practiced battle strategies was half a month ago! Your Gotham shifts are a bit too important, I suppose."

"At least my Gotham shifts are done with people that can follow orders and not question them!"

"Maybe you should go with those people, then!"

"Yeah!" Cyborg agreed. "Us, uncoordinated rebels, must be quite a pain for you, uh?"

"Friends!" Starfire yelled, loud enough to be heard all around the Tower, and everyone went quiet. "Be seated and let us talk this problem out _in peace_!"

Robin sighed deeply and they all sat down, frowns decorating their faces. Some moments of silence passed until Cyborg spoke.

"Let's try talkin' it out, then. Why don't we all say what's botherin' us right now?"

For some reason, Starfire spoke first. "It is annoying me that Robin hadn't disclosed that new knowledge of his and that he appeared to disregard some lives, even though I want to believe he didn't."

"I didn't!" Robin said. "Why would you think I wanted those people to get hurt?"

"I didn't use the word 'want', Robin. The way you acted though gave me that impression. I am also annoyed at how easily you, friends, seem to put the blame on everyone else and not try to identify your own faults."

"She's right." Raven said, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever. "I'll try to be honest here. I was a bit worked-up before we went, about…something"-Beast Boy looked at his lap-"and I thought it was a great opportunity to channel my frustration. Thus my…kind-of-a berserker mode. What bothers me more, though, is that the orders I was given seemed unreasonable and so I couldn't follow them, especially when there were innocents involved. Now I'm…disappointed with Robin, because of his secrecy –intended or not- and with others a bit too."

"How come?" Starfire asked.

"I don't wish to be unfair, but when we were fighting and I… yes, I kind of massacred the guy, I was left alone. I had no team member support for some reason and I had to go all-out, though I overdid it, I admit. That is all."

"That's my bad." Beast Boy. "I got carried away with the other one and didn't come assist you when he aimed for the crowd, sorry. But, yes, the main thing for me is the weird orders and the whole chaos there! I mean, how could we let it get so messy?"

"If I may say," Cyborg said, "you did some pretty immature things, Beastie. And I don't mean to excuse myself, but that monkey stunt you tried to pull off really messed my line of action, man."

"How was I supposed to know you wanted to echo-blast him?" Beast Boy said.

"You saw me reading my arm!"

"Guys." Raven said. "Peacefully, please."

"Alright." Beast Boy said. "Sorry if I messed up, then, but I was lost as well."

"I told you what was botherin' me." Cyborg said. "The whacko orders and the fact that I couldn't get a clear shot. Then I got into a ray duel with the third one and it really messed my canon arm up, damn it."

Robin sighed once again and gathered his teammates' looks. "I am so very confused right now. I see how there are much more issues than I thought and…I don't know what to do and what really is to blame for this situation. I think… I think we might need a break."

Starfire squealed. "Oh, no! You can't possibly mean it!"

Robin shrugged. "I think we should all sort out our priorities and see if we really want and need to be in this team, if it isn't working like it was supposed to."

"Yeah…" Beast Boy agreed sadly. "I mean, this isn't just about a mission almost gone wrong. We all have some issues with each other, apparently. Perhaps we do need that break, I don't know…"

They exchanged some skeptic looks with each other until Robin finally took the word. "I don't see anyone objecting too much. I suppose this is it, then."

Cyborg gloomily got up, followed by Raven and Beast Boy. Starfire in sad awe, watched them, trying to find any signs of…something that said they weren't going to leave but found none. Cyborg took some steps forward and turned his head back for a moment.

"Come on, Raven. Let's go." Beast Boy said, taking Raven's hand but she snatched it away with a jerking movement and glided in front, exiting and followed by Cyborg's eyes. Beast Boy and Cyborg left as well, leaving Starfire to cup the brooding Robin's hand.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

_Around a year later…_

Wearing a huge black hoodie over his torso, Cyborg walked around the dark alleys, paying attention to everything his bionic vision caught. The sound of his feet stepping into paddles of murky water echoed around the cold, stone and cement walls, giving away his presence. He thought it would have been another uneventful patrolling night around the city's notorious neighborhoods, until something caught his fancy some meters away. Speeding up, he stood before a street corner and watched as a familiar figure with black orbs over where the hands should be, telepathetically stacked a pile of knocked-out thugs in the middle of the street. As the figure moved under the street lamp's light, he saw the signature purple hair and the pale, almost grey skin.

"Well, well…" He said, stepping into sight. "If this isn't Raven…"

"Cyborg?" Raven asked and Cyborg grinned. He had to admit that he had missed that husky voice of hers.

"Yup! What are you doing around here?"

Raven shrugged. "Cleaning up."

"Well, it sure seems spotless around here!" Raven tried to half-smile. "So, fancy meeting you, uh?"

"I suppose."

"What do you say, then? You'd like to do some proper catching-up?"

"Why not?"

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

"I didn't know you were continuing crime-fighting." Cyborg said, scanning the typical diner's catalogue.

"A girl's got to keep herself busy somehow…"

"I suppose we were all itching for some action! I've met Robin out and I even worked with Beast Boy a couple of months ago on a particular case!"

"That's good. I haven't met with anyone other than Starfire who came to say goodbye."

"Goodbye?!"

"Yes."

"Why?!"

That moment, the middle-aged waitress approached their table, with a stained order notebook and an old pen in her hands. "What youdcha like t'have?" She asked, wiping her left wrist on her checkered apron.

"I'll be havin'… the extra large cheese bacon burger, with extra fries please. A lot of extra fries and ketchup. Lots of it too." The waitress gave him a weird, bored look and noted down his order.

"A simple pancake with honey." Raven said.

"A'right." With that, she left.

"So, why?!" Cyborg asked again.

"Didn't Robin tell you?"

"No, we didn't really get to speak…"

"They broke up and she left for Tamaran." Raven said coldly.

"Tamaran? Her planet Tamaran?"

"Yes, where else?"

"Oh, man, that sucks."

"She didn't have anything left to do here on Earth after, you know, we…"

"Yes, I know… So how have you been holdin' on?"

Raven shrugged. "Well."

"Well?" Cyborg asked, squinting his eyes. He knew there was more to that 'well', of course. Raven gave him an examining look and sighed.

"I've been having a few troubles but nothing I can't handle."

"Troubles like?"

Raven pondered not sharing anything but…it was so long since she last had a talk with someone. And this someone now was Cyborg, one of the most trustworthy people she knew. Somewhere deep inside, she knew she longed to share her feelings for a change. "The usual; controlling my emotions, handling anger, some _other _fights, you know…"

Cyborg nodded deeply. "I'm sad to hear that."

"Don't be, I'm still fine."

"Didn't say you weren't."

"You?"

"I've been better but… I manage."

A loud sound of glass shattering outside stopped Raven from answering. Instinctively, both of them got up and ran outside, disregarding the waitress bringing their meals.

"Oh, boy…" Raven mumbled upon seeing the tall, robotic being marching through the city square. Its appearance reminded them of something.

"Let's go, Rae!" Cyborg said, starting to run towards the thing. Raven followed, flying by his side.

"Seen anything like this before?" She asked and Cyborg shook his head.

"It is mechanical, something like a moving armor, though. It must have a weak spot somewhere."

"Can you find it?"

"If I get close enough."

Raven nodded and scanned the armor from head to toe. "I'll stall it, you do your thing and find the spot."

"Go from the front, I'll try to remain unseen."

Raven sped up and reached the armor, as Cyborg ran to the left to get behind it. Its red eyes caught on to Raven and his hands were lifted, as some red lines on them shone.

"Uh-oh." Raven mumbled, lifting some trashcans up and throwing them to the incoming orange rays of the armor. She recalled exactly what these rays reminded her of, and it wasn't pleasant. With one swift twirl, she turned into her crow-like form and shot towards the left arm, managing to dismantle whatever was powering up the canon. The beast aimed its right canon at her, as she heard the sound of it preparing a big, solid ray. She didn't know if she had enough time to dodge it, but she tried anyway, with diving down. A hit at its back though, messed his balance up, and the shot missed by a few centimeters. The armor turned around and Raven noticed Cyborg with his canon arm up. Quickly, she joined him.

"Found the spot?"

"Yes!" He replied, as they jumped to avoid an incoming ray.

"It's just beneath its 'neck', from the back side. I can't hit it effectively from down here though!"

"Leave it to me!" Raven said, firing some black rays at the mechanical giant.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She called and flew upwards. A black magical tray emerged beneath Cyborg's footing, as he was lifted up behind her. Raven was good at piloting them and soon they had managed to reach its neck. She looked at Cyborg and he nodded. His tray disappeared and Raven was able to focus her magic to shoot the spot, as Cyborg did as well, falling down but hitting it at the same time.

By the moment Cyborg landed with a big 'thud', the armor's head was blown off and Raven landed gracefully next to him too. The rest of the robot fell on the ground.

"Think we should…gather some samples of this big boy?" Raven asked.

"Yes…" Cyborg replied. "Thanks for the lift over there."

"Don't mention it."

As Cyborg grabbed a piece of the armor's canon and ripped it out, he spoke. "Hey, Raven, where do you live?"

"Somewhere at the East Side." She replied, trying to find a decent piece from its blown-up 'brain'.

"That's…quite far." Raven shrugged. "Wheareas me, I live just five minutes from here. Would you like to…crash at my place tonight?"

Raven gave him a good look. Though the lighting was dim, an honest smile was on his face and, without much thought, she found herself nodding in agreement.

***That was the second chapter, dears! The next one is going to be a bit more…sentimental. I hope you liked this and, as always, leave a review or favorite/follow so I can know that you liked it! Thanks for reading so far and sorry for any typos!***


	3. Chapter 3

*******Okay, I didn't receive any feedback but a follow since the last chapter, but well…Here's your third chapter folks. Thanks for reading and please, leave me a review or fav/follow if you liked this, they mean so much!***

**CHAPTER THREE**

Cyborg's place, as Raven expected, was nothing too fancy, but convenient nonetheless. The main space had a wide single bed, a couch and a big television. There was also a kitchen, a bathroom and another room which Cyborg used as his workshop for his body. Though it lacked any serious decoration, it wasn't too plain or simple, as the young man had colorful furniture and several posters around the walls. Raven found it…cozy.

"It ain't a palace, but it's okay…" Cyborg said, throwing the black hoodie on the unmade bed.

"It's nice." Raven said, taking a seat on the couch and a look at the posters.

"So, the bed is a bit messy but I'll have it ready for you in just a sec…" Cyborg mumbled.

"The couch is just fine, Cyborg." Raven said monotonously.

"The bed's more comfy!" He said smiling. "I don't want you wakin' up with a backache!"

Raven pushed the sofa with her hands. It wasn't hard, it was as soft as it should be. "I won't have a backache. I'll sleep fine on the couch."

"If you insist… Let me fetch you your stuff then!" He said and moved to his small closet. He took out a fluffy pillow and a woolen blanket and handed them to her, moving to his bed.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it! If you need more pillows, just tell me so, 'kay?"

Raven nodded and placed the pillow on the couch, leaving the blanket aside. Cyborg sat on the bed and took a piece from the mechanical being they had fought before in his hands.

"It certainly looks familiar." He said, examining it closely and giving Raven a hasty look. She nodded.

"It's the same as the ones from _that day_."

"Yes, the technology is the same but the being didn't function too well."

"What do you mean?" Raven asked frowning.

"It was a huge robot, armed with advanced alien technology and yet the two of us easily took it out. I mean, it wasn't too quick or too effective in anything it did…"

"I see where you're taking this…"

"Yeah. I think it might have been a primal design, just to test how it worked. I'd say someone must be experimentin' with this new stuff, and I don't think that someone's from outer space…"

Raven folded her arms. "At least we gathered enough specimens to study, right?"

Cyborg nodded. "I faced a guy with a small weapon like this a month ago. I kept it too. Don't know how it works precisely, but I think that it'd better for me to safeguard it, uh?"

"Sure. But it is worrying that small criminals are emerging with these things. Where do they come from? Who makes them and how?"

"Very good questions all of them, but I can't answer any." He shrugged, pouting slightly.

"The League has identified it as a problem, it can't be too long since they do something drastic." Raven said, avoiding mentioning Robin or anything concerning their actions.

Cyborg shrugged again and opened a drawer of his nightstand, taking a small screwdriver out, to fiddle with the robot parts. "You're free to go to sleep any time you feel like it. Don't bother with me."

Raven nodded and lay back, facing the ceiling. Several thoughts ran across her mind wildly, without her focusing on any of them in particular as the moments passed. A few minutes later, the subtle sounds of Cyborg's screwdriver were disturbed by the not-so-subtle rumbling of his stomach.

"Oh, damn, I forgot!" He said laughing. "Rae, would you like anythin' to eat? We didn't get to finish our dinner before."

"I'm okay."

"Alright then! He said, making his way to the kitchen. Raven heard frying pans getting drawn out and soon, the sounds of burning oil and something frying decorated the silence of the night in the apartment. Drowsily a bit, she made her way to the kitchen doorway and watched as Cyborg poured his homemade pancake mix on the pan and then stacked a pile of pancakes on a plate next to the small oven. When the mix in the bowl was over, he turned around to place it in the sink and saw Raven watching him attentively. He flashed her a sheepish smile.

"Are you used to creepily stalk people when they're cooking or is it a new habit of yours?" He asked jokingly.

Raven tried to half-smile. "I think it's new."

Cyborg grabbed a jar of honey from the cupboard and poured a generous amount over his pancake hill before he went on with carrying it. "Let's head back inside, I don't like eating in this kitchen. It's too small for me!"

Raven simply turned around and glided to her spot on the couch. Cyborg cautiously sat on the bed again and placed his plate in front of him. "Want some?" He asked but Raven shook her head. "More for me!" He pinched the first one with his fork and Raven watched in contained curiousness about how quickly the pancakes disappeared into his mouth. More pancakes were devoured until Cyborg finally spoke, with his mouth somewhat full. "Y'know, we wern't s'bad at fightin' th't monst'h!"

"No, we weren't."

Cyborg swallowed a big chunk. "I mean, just some good old teamwork and that thing was down in a minute!"

"Mmm…" Raven mumbled, nodding her head slightly. Cyborg went on with munching on his pancakes and Raven lay back again, pinning her eyes on the ceiling once more.

Cyborg took his plate in the kitchen and lay on his bed as well, finding it quite hard to sleep. He found that though the hour was late, he didn't feel like closing his eyes and drifting away, but that he yearned for some honest talk. It had been long since he had the opportunity to speak his mind freely and have someone listen and he was itching to do so. He betted Raven wasn't feeling too sleepy either.

"Rae?"

"Yes?" She asked back, in her usual monotone voice, which Cyborg found peculiarly soothing at the time.

"Don't you miss it?"

"What, exactly?"

"The team, the Tower, the Titans…All of it."

Raven sighed. He had hit the spot. "I do."

Cyborg was happy to hear that. He didn't know why, but it felt good knowing that he wasn't the only one missing the old times and still feeling attached. He was aware that Raven wasn't the best conversational holder, but even the short answers she gave were enough, maybe more than enough, for him to go on.

"Me too. Sometimes too much, really. I miss the guys and the house and the games and the times we hung out… And, all fun aside, the team dealt better with the enemies. Two set of hands are always better than one. Imagine how great five sets of them were!"

"We had issues, though, Cy."

"Sure we did but every team has issues. Think the big League is perfect? Hell no. They're, like, drama headquarters, and still they're Earth's mightiest hero group."

"We needed time to ourselves, I suppose."

"And what did the time we took do? For me, nothing too important. How did that time work for you?"

"Perfectly." Raven answered, irony almost dripping from her voice.

Cyborg huffed. He knew it couldn't have been too great. "You know, you can speak your mind here, Raven."

"And what do you want me to say?" She asked, turning to her side and covering her shoulders up with the blanket.

"Whatever you feel like saying, I don't know… Care to tell me how you've been that past year?"

Raven didn't know how Cyborg did that, but it felt like he knew exactly what question to ask to make her feel like cringing. The past year wasn't exactly kind to her and she had been struggling not to let anything slip while she was with him; she couldn't possibly know how he felt about the split-up, though it was obvious now. Something inside her tried to comfort her, to tell her that she need not be afraid to say how she felt. Cyborg was asking because he was interested and she during all those years in the Titans that some human contact is necessary to everyone, even to her, and she very well knew that she hadn't gotten any in a big while. "Not too well." She finally said. "It's been…hard."

"Why has it been hard?" He asked and Raven traced hints of concern in his voice.

She sighed. "Because I was afraid."

"Afraid? But why?"

"My powers are directly connected to my emotions, Cyborg."

"Yeah, I know that already."

"When we split up, I was angry. I was furious and I didn't even know how many times I struggled to keep my Trigon side from coming out."

"Oh…"

"I started losing control but I somehow managed to keep it together. When the anger faded, though, all that was left was emptiness. A huge void where you should all be." For some reason, Cyborg's chest felt tense at that statement. He felt…guilty for a split second, and then compassion and sympathy. He listened carefully as Raven went on.

Raven spoke steadily. She didn't know why, but it all came naturally to her. Maybe it was the time, maybe the company, maybe a bit of everything, but speaking about it proved to be cleansing. She lived every stage of the year again, but when the words left her mouth, it seemed as if she was slowly bidding goodbye to them, getting rid of what had been poisoning so far. And so she let it all out. "I was so alone. So terrifyingly alone. You know, the Titans saved me. I never in my life expected to have anyone to care for me, but when I met you guys, I saw the good that was in me and made me want to believe in myself and that I can be something other than what I was created for. When we managed to free me from my Father, I, for the first time, felt hope and many other sentiments that I had discarded from my psyche. I don't show much of it, because with my powers, I can't exactly let everything loose, but, believe me, I did feel them."

"I believe you…"

"When we went our separate ways, I thought I'd be alright. Turns out, no so much. I didn't fit in anywhere else. I didn't belong anywhere. I guess that, even now, I am surviving, but not living. All the nasty sentiments from the time I spent before joining the team returned and I am back to square zero."

"I'm so sorry, Raven."

"What for? It's not your fault, it was our choice and I am not someone you need to watch over for."

"That's not what I meant but... we were-no, we are- friends, damn it! I refuse to believe that a fight and some stupid stubbornness managed to destroy the bonds we had. I should have been there for you and for everyone. Beast Boy wasn't either?"

"We broke up shortly after the split, but it doesn't matter. Cyborg, we should have been here for you, then, too. No one was, though."

"It doesn't matter! I was still here, I still care. You should have come to me when you thought you were all alone…"

"It's alright, Cyborg."

"Is it, really?" He asked, getting worked up. "Know what I think? We're all a bunch of egoistic idiots, not willing to admit that we need each other! Because you're not the only one who came to the Titans and found some meaning, Raven."

"Mm?"

"I am practically a pile of metal with some flesh patches here and there. Think it was easy for me to be accepted? No one believed I was human anymore. I lost so much of my body. Yet no one seemed to understand that my mind was still there, but the team. I became a hero, not just a robot freak!"

Raven inhaled deeply and nodded. She could understand him so well. It was just how it felt for her too. "I know, Cyborg. I also saved people instead of just being a four-red-eyed demon freak…"

Cyborg huffed. "So we're both freaks in the end of the day. Freaks that saved the world and did good, but threw it all away because we couldn't sit down and face our problems."

"We made a mistake back then, didn't we?" Raven said, turning around to her back again.

"Yes. A mistake. That's what it was." Cyborg said decisively. "And what do people do with mistakes?"

"They fix them."

"Yes they do. So, what do y'say, Raven? Feel like fixin' it with me?"

A small spark burnt inside Raven. Something was stirring and she liked it. It was high time she did something about the hole of never-ending darkness she had fallen into, and she had the perfect ally with her. A small grin spread on her face as the first rays of the sun rising came through the curtain gaps. "Yes."

***Here they go to get them all back together, then! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, please, please, please, let me know how you found it! Thanks for reading and sorry for any typos!***


	4. Chapter 4

***Hello, readers! Why is the CyRae community…well, not so active anymore? I just hope you're still 'flying the ship flag' high and enjoy the story. Here is your fourth chapter and as always, thanks for reading and please leave me a review by the end of it!***

**CHAPTER FOUR**

Raven woke up to the loud sounds of pop and RnB songs coming from the stereo. A familiar smell filled her nostrils and she stood up, following it to the kitchen. Inside, she saw Cyborg, shaking his lower half to the rhythm and pouring his pancake mix on the pan once again.

"Hey." She said, standing at the doorway.

"I see you weren't jokin' about stalking bein' a new habit after all, uh?" Cyborg said, giving her a wide, hearty smile. Raven shrugged and took a seat at the small table. "How many pancakes do you want?"

"Just one."

"Tsk. How can you stay at only one? One equals none!"

"I think our appetites might be just a little different." She replied, arching an eyebrow.

"Little witch, you'd better eat well today, 'cause we got a long day ahead of us!"

"Long as in…?"

"We got work to do."

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

"Oh, boy…" Raven mumbled upon taking a look at the Titan Tower. She couldn't really believe that that's how it had become after they left. She hadn't returned to the Tower ever since the split-up, trying to leave the past behind, but seeing it filthy and filled with ugly graffiti made her chest feel tense. She noticed that some windows over the entrance were broken.

"I think we might have some…pests." Cyborg said, folding his arms.

"Good thing I brought pesticide." Raven said, summoning two black orbs over her hands and flying to the entrance. Cyborg smiled playfully and joined her, passing his Titan pager over the door's locking system. Though the team was no longer together, the door still only recognized their pagers and slid open silently. A gush of dusty wind made Raven wrinkle her nose.

In a few moments, they had reached their main room, confirming that the broken windows were from there. The place smelled badly and the same ugly graffiti 'decorated' the walls on the inside as well. When they had vacated the Tower, they had taken their belongings with them and Robin had taken most of the electronic equipment but the duo soon realized with a quick look around that whatever equipment had been left behind was either destroyed or taken out and, probably, sold somewhere.

"My heart aches when I see this place, man…" Cyborg said, shaking his head. "My beautiful couch, my precious kitchen!"

"It is bad indeed, _man._" Raven replied when they heard some footsteps coming from the corridor that led to their rooms. A group of approximately a dozen guys appeared. They were dressed in dark colors and appeared to be what she often heard Robin describe as 'thugs'.

"Looks like we got company, guys…" One of them said, drawing a pen knife out of his pocket, followed by the rest of them.

Raven rolled her eyes and sighed. "Leave."

"This is our house, babe." Another said and Raven's eyebrow twitched. "We ain't gonna be leavin' any time soon."

"She isn't joking, folks." Cyborg said, grinning playfully.

"Oh, the robot speaks, guys!" One said and Raven snorted, surprising Cyborg a bit.

"He speaks alright." She said. "And trust me, he isn't going to stick to words if you don't get _the hell _out of here."

"Or else what?" The first one said, giving Raven a head-to-toe look.

"Or else I'll make _the hell _in _here_."

Just as the guy was ready to signal his comrades, Raven's eyes turned red and she flew up, black magic ruffling her cape around wildly. The guy stumbled back and fell down. Cyborg laughed loudly and soon, the whole group of them was jumping out of the broken windows in sheer terror. "And don't come back!" Cyborg shouted, standing near the edge of their escape route.

"That was fun." Raven commented, half-smiling. Cyborg half-smiled back, liking seeing her active and enjoying herself.

"Let's take a look at the rest of the house." He said and they started taking a stroll around the chambers.

When they reached Raven's room, she was pleasantly surprised to see that it was probably empty while she was gone, meaning that no uninvited guest had inhabited it. "Probably crept them out even without your weird stuff…" Cyborg mumbled and Raven huffed. The rest of the rooms, mostly the boys', were filled with empty beer cans, dirty clothes, some old cell phones and left in a dreadful state, as the carpets and every other cloth had been torn and any remaining furniture was not respected either. Cyborg's lab's walls were painted over and over with the names of –he guessed- the thugs, but other than that and the beer cans, it was okay. He had made sure to take every piece of technology he owned with him when he left.

"Where do you want to start from?" Cyborg asked when they had inspected the entirety of the building.

"You go buy what we need, I'll take care of the outside."

"Roger that!" He said winking and left for the shopping district. Once he was gone, Raven grabbed the backpack he left behind and took the cleaning materials out. She wasn't exactly familiar with household chores, but she was familiar with magic, and she knew a few tricks that could help her out. She grabbed the window-cleaning spray bottle and flew outside, to the top of the tower. Most of the windows only needed a quick clean, just the lower side and the walls at the sides needed to have the graffiti removed. Itching to try a new trick she had come up with, she unscrewed the bottle's top and magically carried the entire liquid out. Summoning some more of her magic, she blended the liquid with the black substance, magically enhancing it and unifying it with the magic. With one swift, upward motion of her hands, every Tower surface was covered with a black magic veil. Raven moved her hands again, and the magic veil shook lightly and started getting wavy, resembling curtains that caressed windows. A few seconds later it disappeared, leaving the windows sparkly. She took a look down, and saw that most of the paint left on the glass was gone. She smiled to herself and went back inside, to do them from the inside as well.

For some reason Cyborg didn't know, he had turned his head back when walking to the shops and he was actually glad he did. He hadn't expected to see the whole Tower turning black, but in just a few seconds, it had returned to normal and the sun rays that hit it were reflected, appearing like sparks on its surfaces. It was clean again. He grinned widely, seeing what an amazing and quick work Raven had done. But that was her, he thought. Even though she didn't think so, she made things so much easier most of the times and he was very much glad to have her with him now.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

By the time Cyborg was done replacing the broken windows and checking the aluminum frames, Raven had went back to her apartment, returned with ten of her books along, searched them meticulously and found the perfect charm to repair all of the cloths that had been ruined.

"So, you're tellin' me that you need to meditate just to make some stitches on the couch?" Cyborg asked, confused.

"I'm telling you that I will be magically repairing every single piece of cloth inside the tower. That means curtains, carpets, couch covers, the remaining sheets, pillows, everything. These are a lot of objects."

"Oh, right. I remember that you give a piece of your soul to whatever object you magically interact with, right."

"Exactly. So, I will meditate to make some space in my mind. It won't take too long, so give me half an hour."

"Take your time, Rae! I'll just work on the kitchen."

Raven nodded and levitated herself, crossing her legs and laying her hands on her knees. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…" She whispered and drifted to the depths of her mind.

Cyborg moved to the kitchen corner and ran his fingers over the counters. They sure were an awful lot dusty but dusting was the last thing he would do. For now, he had to repair the rickety cupboards and check the oven which, luckily, hadn't been removed; he guessed due to the fact that it was too heavy and, well, just an oven. Just as he opened the first cupboard, whose first hinge was completely torn off, his eye caught something at the back which he immediately recognized; Raven's tea box. He supposed not even the thugs wanted to drink that tea and huffed to himself, turning to look at his fellow titan.

Raven's beauty wasn't one that stroke someone at the first time they met; yet it was there and Cyborg realized he felt its presence quite strongly. She didn't have the typical 'pretty girl' face or characteristics, but she was, for Cyborg at least, quite beautiful. Small lips, cute nose, big, piercing eyes and pale skin, all framed perfectly by her purple hair, which, he now noticed, had gotten fairly long during the time they hadn't seen each other. She looked tranquil, floating there, meditating and before he allowed his thoughts to drift that way, he pulled himself back together and focused on the cupboards he needed to fix.

Time flew by, replacing hinges and screwing handles in, and Raven came out of her limbo, landing gracefully on the dirty floor. "I'm ready." She announced and Cyborg closed the cupboard he was working on.

"Let's see it!"

Raven stood behind the couch and outstretched her hands, as her eyes shone brightly. "Pallium Totum Reparo Rex!"

Black magic threads appeared on every cloth Cyborg could see. The couch pillows, the shreds of the carpet they had, the remains of some curtains, the tablecloths, everything, was filled with magic streaks which, like tiny snakes, worked their way around the strings of the fabric, patching everything back together. The process must have lasted around a minute, but for Raven and Cyborg, it sure seemed like more. Raven lowered her hand and observed the result.

"Seems it cleans as well…"

"Yeah!" Cyborg said excitedly, seeing how almost everything had returned to how it used to be, not only in shape, but in color too. He grinned widely and turned to the oven, as Raven glided towards the corridor to –he guessed- observe the rooms. When she got back, she was holding a big plastic bag filled with clothes in her arms. She placed it in front of the door. "What'd you got, Rae?"

"Our guests' clothes were cleaned and repaired as well. I suppose we should hand them out to a charity, right?"

Cyborg nodded smiling.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Cyborg fell heavily on the couch and exhaled deeply. "Boy, that was a long day indeed!"

Raven joined him and sighed. "Yes…"

"But, it is startin' to feel like home again, isn't it?"

"I think so."

"Just a little more things to buy and fix and repaint and we'll be done!"

"And then there's three people we need to bring inside for the ensemble to be complete."

"That's the easy part!"

"Easy…"

"Yeah, Rae. What makes you think they haven't missed us too?"

Raven shrugged. "Maybe they moved on well."

"Hell no. I'm a gazillion percent sure."

"If you say so…"

"So, is it safe to say that once this place is decent we'll move back?"

"Without the others?"

"The others will come. If we stay back here, we'll keep the place tidy and coordinate our plan better. So, what do you say?"

"Why not? My room here is much better than my current apartment, so I have nothing to lose." She yawned.

"And then we'll start talkin' to the others. Who do you think we should contact first?"

"I don't know, Beast Boy?"

"Mm, that's what I was thinkin' too. I mean, Robin is a bit proud and stubborn and Starfire's in another planet. I bet Beastie's wanting to get back together just as much as we do, so it can't be too hard to convince him, right?"

"We'll see when the time comes."

"Yeah, sure. But, Rae, do you want me to, like, talk to him to alone or-"

"No." Raven said decisively. "It will be fine, Cyborg."

"Okay, okay, since you say so…"

"Good."

Cyborg turned his gaze on the sun setting on the horizon and the fluffy clouds that turned different colors as the time went by. Not taking his eyes from the view, he kept on babbling. "I'll start bringin' my stuff here from tomorrow. The lab isn't goin' to set up itself and I'm tellin' you, it isn't easy putting it up. All these chords and machinery are quite complicated, you know. But I suppose I can have it ready in half a day or so. Yeah. Half a day should be enough. I need to carry them first, though. Ugh, that might take a while. Hm." He looked at Raven from the corner of his eye.

The sorceress had rested her head on the couch's arm and was breathing slowly and softly. She had fallen asleep. Half-smiling, he got up and removed a loose hoodie from the pile of cleaned clothes for the charity. He gently placed it over her and reclaimed his seat, congratulating himself for remembering to bring some food along, as, as it seemed, he'd spend the night there as well.

***A light-hearted chapter, just to start bringing the Titan stuff together! On the spell I used some latin words and stuff, don't mind it too much, I improvised! Anyway, I hope you liked this and I also hope I'll be updating soon!***


	5. Chapter 5

***Hello! I know this isn't exactly a quick update BUT I had loads of Uni work and a trip and I couldn't write. Anyway, thank you all for your feedback so far, it means so much, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!***

**CHAPTER FIVE**

When Raven opened her eyes, she was pleasantly surprised to face the familiar Titan Tower wall of the living room. A look outside the window told her it was quite late in the morning and she felt rejuvenated, as she had probably gotten many hours of sleep. Luckily, sleeping on the couch proved comfortable, as she didn't feel tense at all. A warm piece of clothing was placed over her and she turned around to see Cyborg cooking by the fixed oven. She smiled to herself and thought '_I could get used to this…'_, immediately frowning to herself at how this thought managed to creep her way inside her mind. She got up and Cyborg turned around to see her just as she was taking a seat on the dusty counter.

"Wakey wakey, little witch!" He greeted, wiping his hand on his apron.

"Hey."

"You sure did sleep much…"

"I suppose. What are you making?"

"Oh, well, while you're catching your z's, I went back to my house and brought some basic stuff here, so I can cook us somethin' tasty for breakfast. I brought some clothes and stuff too."

"That's nice."

Cyborg grinned. "What's even nicer is that you woke up just in time to try my new, improved pancakes! Here." He grabbed a small bite with a fork and approached her mouth with it. Raven frowned at the unusual gesture but opened up and ate the pancake piece. "So?" Cyborg asked, his eyebrows shot up in anticipation of her answer.

"Mmm. It's actually pretty good!"  
>"I knew it! Now I'm sure no one will ever be able to top my pancakes! This new recipe is amazing!"<p>

Raven half-smiled. "So, what are our plans for today?"

"A lot of movin' around, I suppose. Since the place's not half bad, we can go to your place and bring your stuff here, and then bring my equipment too and get settled."

"Okay. And when are… the negotiations to begin?"

Cyborg shrugged, turning to his frying pan. "I know where Beastie hangs out these days, if we're done early enough, we can go straight away."

"Alright…" Raven mumbled.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

"Yes. It suits him." Raven commented, when they reached the district where Beast Boy was living. It was very near the city center, and certainly one of the busiest. The main avenue was very long, filled with enterprise skyscrapers and all kinds of shops and places. Neon sings and big advertising panels decorated the buildings' surfaces, and hundreds of people were out on the street at all times.

"Now, I don't really know where exactly he lives, but if we have a stroll around here, I think we might…stumble upon him?"

"…Flawless plan."

"Come on, Rae, he's not answering his Titan pager, how am I supposed to know?"

"You said you met some time ago."

"Well, how was I supposed to know it'd be important to know his address?!"

Raven sighed. "Let's walk around, then."

Some time passed as they walked among the crowd, taking a glance at the shops' windows, all brightly lit and filled with all sorts of products. At times, something would catch Cyborg's fancy, and he'd loudly comment on what he thought of the thing, while Raven would laconically offer her opinion, refraining from expressing any sort of excitement for anything she saw. Shopping really wasn't her thing, though the times she had gone with Starfire at the mall –countable with the fingers of one hand- hadn't actually been so bad. A small hint of nostalgia made Raven's chest tense up a bit, as she realized that she missed the only lady friend she had more than she wanted to admit.

She tilted her head a bit and observed Cyborg, devouring a hotdog he just bought; his mouth was decorated with splashes of red and yellow –ketchup and mustard, while his cheeks were puffed like a blowfish, from munching loudly. Though chewing wasn't supposed to be among the most flattering things someone could be seen doing, Raven liked how Cyborg's face always appeared so fresh and dynamic. Though she had seen him sad and angry and depressed, his posture and his facial expressions always 'oozed' an 'aura' of energy and passion for life. Raven had grown to deeply appreciate those aspects of Cyborg's appearance, mostly because, she thought, she couldn't find them in herself and her image. Though she had the will to live, of course, and plenty of power, those elements didn't reflect on her appearance that much. Whenever she looked in the mirror, that pale skin of hers always seemed outwardly, and her expression could hardly be described as dynamic or vivid. So she had learnt to enjoy them in the face of her fellow Titan. She had soon realized, as well, that that image of his was in no sense distorted by the metallic parts; Raven didn't even care that he was mostly mechanic, he was Cyborg, and Cyborg was a lot more that metal parts for her and the team. She absentmindedly grinned a bit, feeling quite happy that she was reunited with him and didn't have to be all by herself again. The stroll around the shops wasn't so bad either; in fact, she could even say she was enjoying herself a bit.

Just as they passed an electronics shop, Raven nudged Cyborg and gestured with her head ahead. Cyborg squinted his eyes and saw a green dog sitting in front of the zebra crossing of the crossroad, looking at them sternly. They kept walking towards him and he approached, keeping his tail straight up. "Hey, mutt." Cyborg said, petting the dog's head and he growled a bit, turning to look at Raven. She remained silent, her face betraying no emotion whatsoever. "We want to have a little chat with you." The dog barked lowly. "Follow us."

Cyborg and Raven started walking towards a café they saw at the next corner, and the dog followed them closely, walking by Raven's side. When they reached the entrance, Cyborg held the door open for them. Raven marched inside and Beast Boy followed, turning to himself after having checked that no one was watching.

"Hey, guys." Beast Boy said, as the walked towards a corner booth. "What brings you around this part of the city? I haven't seen any monsters tonight."

"Nah, this isn't about monsters." Cyborg said.

"Then what is this about?"

"Beast Boy, how have you been holdin' on during this year?"

Beast Boy shrugged. "Could have been better."

"In what ways, exactly?" Cyborg asked and Raven admired the way he brought the subject to the table.

Beast Boy's look shifted from Raven to Cyborg and back. He sighed and turned his eyes to his hands. "Don't act like you don't know…"

"We're here because we know." Raven mumbled and Beast Boy gave her a sweet side-look.

"So, you…you have thought of something?"

"Well, there's no point in hidin' behind our fingers, is there?" Cyborg said.

"No."

"We've all been pretty messed up since we went our separate ways and, well, I don't think anyone's been gettin' better this year."

"Not really."

"We've thought of the reasonable thing." Raven added.

"Regrouping." Cyborg announced.

"Are you sure?" Beast Boy asked.

"Of course! I mean, this solo thing hasn't worked for anyone. We are less effective in what we do and, well, I, we, miss the team and everything…"

"Right." Raven agreed.

"But last time was really a mess…" Beast Boy said sadly.

"It was a rush decision to split up, man." Cyborg said. "Yeah, we had our issues but we could have trained, talked, brawled, whatever, but not split! The nerves really got to us."

"I know… But how do we know we can work together again now?"

"We're friends." Raven said bluntly. "A fight can't undo that. We'll train and fix our issues. We work better together, we all know it."

"Have you spoken to anyone else?"

"Nope. We thought you'd be more willing to join the effort, so we came to you." Cyborg said. "So, are you?"

"Am I in, you ask?"

"Yeah."

Beast Boy gave them both a good look and then grinned widely. "Of course I'm in! I've missed you so much, guys!"

Cyborg laughed and Raven half-smiled. "That's the spirit!" Cyborg said.

"Should we go back to the Tower?"

"Been there, done that." Raven said and Beast Boy's eyebrows shot up.

"The Tower's ready?!"

"Yup!"

"Cool! I'll be moving in tomorrow, first thing in the morning. Get ready, Cy, I've bought three new games I've been dying to beat someone at."

Cyborg huffed loudly. "Dream on, buddy!"

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Cyborg wandered aimlessly around the kitchen, dragging a pinkish cloth over the –now- clean counters, not knowing how to interpret the uneasiness he was feeling. He was very, very happy when Beast Boy agreed to join them and he didn't expect it to be so easy. What he didn't expect, though, too, was from Beast Boy to ask to speak with Raven in private after their coffee. He knew and he understood that they probably had their own issues to settle since they had history together, but what he couldn't understand was why he felt so strangely about it, and why he was so anxious to know what had been said and why Raven was particularly lost in herself ever since. He knew that she wasn't the chirpiest person but she had been awfully silent, even for her own standards.

Deciding that worrying about something he couldn't fully understand didn't really suit him, he sat on the couch and turned the television he brought from his apartment on, silently wishing Robin joined them soon, so they could get their old monitors and screens back. Some minutes later, and after Cyborg had meticulously paid attention to the documentary about the building of asylums for the mentally ill, he heard the doors slid open and he turned around to see Raven silently floating over the floor and making her way to the cupboards. Predictably enough, she prepared herself a tea and exited again, as silently as she had entered. Not thinking about it much and following a quick impulsive thought of his, he jumped off the couch and left the main room, knowing exactly, for some reason, where his companion would be.

Effortlessly, he pushed the rooftop's door open and climbed out, shutting it again. He internally congratulated himself for being spot-on, as Raven was sitting by the edge of the roof, gazing at the night sky and the horizon. He made his way to her sitting spot and sat by her side, placing his palms on his knees.

"Hey there, philosopher." He greeted and Raven welcomed him with a questioning look. "Sittin' by yourself, gazin' at the sea, probably ponderin' about the universe and stuff…"

"The universe has never really been of my fancy."

"Penny for your thoughts, then?"

"Give me a full dollar because they're a lot…"

Cyborg huffed. "I have time. And a dollar." Raven sighed. "So? Care to share them?"

Raven exhaled slowly. "You have probably guessed what this is about."

"I've made a thought or two…."

"Cyborg, I am confused."

"I suppose it's reasonable to be confused. Is it something that Beastie told you that upset you?"

"Yes. And no. It was the whole thing, not something in particular, really."

"If I don't become too nosy, what did he tell you? I promise to act like I don't know a single thing. Pinky promise."

"I trust you. Well, he wanted, firstly, to know if we'd be able to cooperate properly in this new 'initiative'-guess he'd been reading a dictionary lately or something."

"And what did you say?"

"What do you think I said? Of course we'll cooperate properly. We're superheroes trained in the same group for years and at least one of us is mature enough to be able to keep the distance needed during missions."

"Passive aggressive Raven is funny." Cyborg commented, half-smiling.

"Then he wanted me to know that he has grown and 'evolved' during those months we were separated."

"I guess that remains to be seen…"

"Yes. I asked him what does that have to do with me now, and he answered by saying that this is a fresh start for everything, and I think you know what he meant by that."

"It kind of contradicts his last question, though."

"What I thought as well. You can't come and ask me if it'll be okay to work with you, playing all mature and stuff, and then imply that we might…"

"Get back together." Cyborg blurred out, not knowing why Raven refrained from using the term and why he didn't even want to say it either.

"…Yes."

"Did he say anything else after that?"

"Some cheesy things."

"You didn't like them?"

"I might have liked them if they weren't about a year late."

"Oh, I see. He went all 'I care about you' and 'I'm here for everything' and stuff, uh?"

"Something like that."

Cyborg bit his lower lip and turned his gaze at the sea too, slightly hunching his back. He was glad that Raven was open to him and talked to him about it, and… he felt something strange, that he knew he'd had to explore later on, on his own. For now, he wanted to know a bit more, so he pushed his luck and asked the sorceress not about the facts, but the feelings over the talk. "And how are you feelin' about all this?"

"I told you. I'm confused."

"Want me to help you…clarify things in your head a bit?"

"You can try."

"So…um, you talked in private. Did you get that butterfly-knot-thingy you're

supposed to have when bein' alone with your crush and stuff?"

"Can't say I did."

"You saw him after almost a year. What was the first thing on your mind when you first saw him there?"

"That's a weird-looking dog."

Cyborg huffed. "After that?"

"So here he is."

"Nothing other than that?"

"No. I don't think there was anything."

"Alright… Say, now, that he comes all suited-up, with a rose bouquet in hands, kneels down in front of you and begs you to give him a second chance, sayin' that he'll be the perfect boyfriend. What do you tell him?"

"Nothing, I'd probably be laughing hysterically at the image of him being suited-up."

"For some reason, my head can't make up the picture of you laughin' so much!" Cyborg said smiling and Raven smiled back.

"It isn't that much of a habit to me, I suppose."

"A shame, really."

"What? How come?"

"You…You have a very pretty smile and laugh, that is all." Cyborg said, regretting it immediately and scolding himself for speaking before thinking.

"Oh." Raven said, somewhat taken aback by the sudden compliment. "Thanks."

"Uh, never mind, never mind! Back to the point! What would you say to him?!"

"That's the point of my confusion. I…I don't want to see him sad, or hurt him, but…"

"But?"

"I don't think I feel the way I did anymore. I have…run out of that emotion for him."

"You can't lie to him, Rae. Or give him any false hopes. At least if I were him, I'd like to know."

"Yes, of course."

"You're still confused, though."

"No, not confused anymore."

"Then what? Your face isn't the face of someone with his mind made up."

"What if I regret it, Cyborg?"

"Regret what?"

"What if some feelings come back?"

"I don't think they will. You're usually a decisive person." Raven remained silent and Cyborg turned to look at her, shooting a bright smile at her too. "No matter what, I know you'll be fine, Raven. You're strong, you don't…you don't need anyone to remind you that. And do not put someone else's wants before your own, because that, um, that'd be stupid, alright?" Cyborg said, wishing he could be better at sentimental and empowering speeches, as he thought he might have come out as somewhat silly. Yet Raven's look made him forget everything, as the big, amethyst eyes widened a little and the small bright dots of the stars reflected on them, making them shine spectacularly.

Raven nodded. "Thank you, Cyborg. A lot."

Cyborg smiled goofily, passing his left hand behind his head. "It's nothing, Rae. That's what friends are for, right?"

"Right."

Raven turned towards the horizon once again but something was different about her. Cyborg noticed how she was sitting more upright now, shuffling her feet a bit and maybe, he couldn't really put his finger on it, he could make out the outline of a small smile on her lips. And so he knew that he'd been successful.

Raven felt refreshed. She didn't know a talk could work such miracles for her mood. It felt better having someone to share her thoughts with, and Cyborg was perfect for that too. Maybe it was his positive aura that made her feel that way, but she enjoyed feeling positive too for a change. She didn't want to forsake that sentiment, it was nice.

Cyborg battled with his awkwardness, trying to decide whether it was appropriate to pass his hand over her shoulders, but came down to patting her shoulder, as the gesture could have been misunderstood and his arm was probably too heavy as well. Raven turned to look at him. "So, it's getting quite chilly. Want to go inside?" Raven shrugged. "There's a…nice documentary for asylums on the TV."

"Let's watch a movie, shall we?"

"Oh, oh, I know! Zombie Robot Warriors Five is awesome! Let's watch that one!"

Raven tried to smile. That movie wasn't really what she would pick but she didn't feel like saying 'no' to Cyborg and well, she didn't find anything wrong with trying something different tonight. Zombie Robot Warriors it was, then.

***They are bonding a lot, no? Some feeling splashes here and there… Hope you enjoyed it. More Titans will be coming, more feelings, more talks, more trips, more action, more everything! Thanks for reading and please, leave me a small review! Sorry for any typos!***


	6. Chapter 6

***Hello, beloved readers! I'm awfully sorry for the delay in the update but I was sick and loaded with a shitload of Uni work and seminars to attend so I couldn't really find the time to finish it… (FYI I'm studying Medicine and thought this year was THE perfect time to start taking driving lessons, continue German and get busy with student exchanges-.-) Anyway, a maaaaassive thank you goes to every single one of you who read and took the time to leave me a review. Thank you for your support and your feedback, it means the world to me. So, I hope you enjoy this!***

**CHAPTER SIX**

Cyborg cursed a bit when he took a look at the alarm clock by his sleeping place. He hadn't programmed himself to wake up at a particular time, leaving himself to sleep for as much as he needed, but he hadn't expected him to sleep for twelve hours straight. Sad for having missed breakfast but satisfied for being close to lunch, he marched inside the main room to see Raven floating mid-air, with a look of barely constrained anger on her face, and Beast Boy prancing around her, trying to give her something from a bowl he was holding. Raven was persistently denying.

"Wakey-wakey!" Beast Boy exclaimed when he saw his friend and moved his way, waving a spoon around. "You sure did sleep much!"

"Yeah…" Cyborg mumbled, trying to get his mind together.

"Here." Beast Boy said, approaching his spoon to Cyborg's face. "Try my new, awesome soy dough!"

"What?"

"Raven doesn't want to try it, but I tell you, it's amazing! Try it!"

Cyborg shook his head. "I don't think raw soy's the thing I wanna try first thing in the morning, Beastie… No offence."

"Hell of a morning it is, 3 pm…" Raven muttered in the distance and Cyborg rolled his eyes.

"Oh, man," Beast Boy said, hanging his shoulders down in disappointment, "why are you all so negative? I bet Starfire'd try it…"

"Compared to her planet's cuisine, your tasteless mud would indeed seem gourmet." Raven said, raising an eyebrow.

"She'll soon be here, I know it." Cyborg said, moving to the coffee machine. "Made any plans for today, guys?"

"We had someone make them for us, apparently…" Raven said.

"Who do you think Beast Boy's been cooking for?"

"I thought it was lunch time…"

"It is, but no. Robin will be coming here."

"What?!"

"Oh, yeah!" Beast Boy chirped from over the oven. "Things are sure moving fast!"

"Did you move already too?!"

"He's been here since seven…" Raven said, giving him a long, frustrated look.

"Boy, I missed some stuff…" Cyborg said, passing his hand over head and holding his coffee cup with the other. "Tell me about Robin."

"He's been in Gotham, as you probably knew." Beast Boy said.

"Yeah. Back with Bats."

"Seems like he'd been keeping an eye on things here too." Raven went on. "He sent in a message on your TV, saying that he noticed how the pagers had given out signals again."

"On the door?"

"Yup." Beast Boy said. "He has the signal tracker, remember? He got all of our gadgets out when we left."

"I know."

"And he saw how they were used, and gave us a ring."

"Cyborg, he was _checking _on here. Almost like he cared?" Raven said, half-smiling a bit.

"That's Robin for you, I'spose."

"Yeah!" Beast Boy said. "And well, on the message he said that this was the only device-your TV- he could trace to send his message to and he will be visiting the Tower today."

"Bet he saw the Tower all repaired through his satellite too…" Cyborg said.

"You can be sure." Raven commented. "He's Robin. Do you think he'd stop checking on his crewmates? Former or not?"

"Don't think so. Even for… filing reasons, he wouldn't."

"And so the group's getting back together!" Beast Boy exclaimed, pouring some milk in his frying pan.

Not more than half an hour later, the main entrance door opened and they waited for some seconds, before Robin came to the living room.

"Puberty stroke." Raven mumbled, earning a soft nudge from Cyborg.

Though it'd only been something less than a year, Robin seemed…quite different; definitely taller, with a manlier figure –broader shoulders, mostly, a little more profound facial characteristics and a lot darker costume. The three of them put on their warmest of smiles and Robin frowned upon seeing them.

"Long time no see…" He said, examining their faces. Though he suspected they'd be surprised to see how he had changed, he himself couldn't say they were same too.

"Welcome home, buddy." Cyborg said and Robin gave him a good look.

"Sure it's quite soon to call it that already…"

"Come on, man."

"It's always going to be home!" Beast Boy said. "All that's missing from it being exactly as it was, are the gizmos you took."

"So you're allied again?"

"Oh, my, how'd you figure?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just came here to check on things. See if it was actually you using the pagers."

"Who else would it be, Rob?" Cyborg asked.

Robin shrugged. "You could have disposed of your pagers and someone could have been using them to get inside the Tower."

"It was already occupied, Boy Wonder. The door's not the only way to get inside a building, you know." Raven said. "Bet you didn't check on the Tower too often this year, right?"

"Why would I?"

Raven shrugged and gave him a good look. "You'd have your reasons…"

Robin took some steps further inside, taking a look around. "You sure did make everything like it used to be, though."

"And the materials aren't the only thing to be made into how it used to be."

"Let's be a team again, Robin!" Beast Boy said, approaching his buddy with his bowl in hand. "Here, I even made you some cookies! My new, awesome, soy-dough cookies!"

"Um, thanks, but I'm not, um, hungry right now?"

"I'll leave them here for you, then!" Beast Boy went on, cheerfully as ever, placing the bowl on the coffee table.

"So, what do you say?" Cyborg asked. "Care to join us again?"

Robin folded his arms and sighed. "This is a bit sudden."

"Not too complicated, though." Raven said.

"I can't fully decide now. I've got another team on me. And it's not like things on here ran perfectly… That's why we called the thing off, in the end."

"It's not like we actually made an effort to solve anything."

"We needed that break."

"Exactly, man." Cyborg said. "You said it yourself! A break. Breaks end. And we took a hell of a long one."

"I honestly don't know. I can't decide now."

"Please, please, please give it some thought, Robin!" Beast Boy said, widening his eyes. "It won't be the same without you."

Robin sighed. "I will, but I can't promise you anything."

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

_-Five days later-_

Raven, too bored to go through the entrance, turned into her black soul-self and slid inside the Tower from the eastern wall. She was done with her errands and ready to delve into her books for the afternoon. Inside, she found Cyborg, with a towel wrapped around his robotic neck, drinking some cold water.

"Hey there, witchy." He greeted, wiping some drops off his lips with the back of his palm.

"Hey."

"Done with your chores?"

Raven nodded. "How was the training?"

Cyborg shrugged. "Good. We're synchronizin' better."

"That's nice."

"Yeah… Beastie's in the shower now, so I'm waitin' for my turn."

"You might as well go sleep, have dinner and refurnish your room while you're at it…"

Cyborg snorted. "He sure spends his time showerin'…"

"And performing. What's on the program today? Phantom of the Opera?"

"I think it was the Titanic song but couldn't bring myself to listen anymore."

"He isn't Celine, that's for sure…" Raven mumbled, cringing at the memories of their karaoke nights, that she always vetoed but somehow ended up being dragged into them anyway. "So, do we have any news on-"

"Nope." Cyborg said immediately, somewhat disappointed. "It's been five days…"

Raven frowned and folded her arms. "What is taking him so long?"

He shrugged. "He's probably torn between us and the Batfam, I suppose."

"It's not like we're asking him to abandon them completely…" Raven said, floating towards the kitchen counter and sitting close to Cyborg. "He can balance everything, he's Robin."

"Yeah… is it really that hard to go back to how we used to be?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't have much life outside the team. He does, though, so I can't really put myself in his shoes."

"But, isn't he, like, missin' us at all?"

"He is."

"You're quite sure about it!"

"Indeed."

"How?"

"I saw him. That isn't really the way someone who didn't care would act. And I'm a psychic, which means that if he had negative or indifferent feelings, I would sense his aura differently, but I didn't."

Cyborg's eyebrows raised lightly. He wasn't aware of that aura-sensing ability of hers. Something agitated him; what if she could actually 'read' their feelings, even without her wanting to? That wouldn't be too good. And then he stopped that string of thoughts with another one. Why was he worrying that she'd find it how he felt at times? Did he have anything to hide? Did he really worry about...being exposed? Exposing what, really? Momentarily, he flicked his eyes to her, only to find her staring back and a surge of something quite intense ran through him, as he averted his eyes again and a small hint of panic made its presence known. "That's new…Auras…"

"Not really." Raven said. "I've always had it."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It's not that advanced, though." Raven said, to Cyborg's immense relief. "I can only sense basic things, like positive and negative, as I told you."

"No specific feelings?" Cyborg asked, wanting to find out more.

"Not exactly. For example, when I see you guys, I sense positive. You are my friends and your disposition is friendly. The most negative aura I've ever sensed was my father's. Do you see how it works?"

"Sorta. So," Cyborg said, indulging his more playful side, "can you tell what I'm feelin' now?"

Raven gave him an exasperated look. "I told you, I can't tell specifically."

"Try."

Raven arched an eyebrow. "You're playing with Raven's temper."

He gave her a sly look, smirking, thinking something along the lines of 'I wanna play with the whole of you', just to mess with her. He thought he saw a flash of red go through her almost grey cheeks and a strange shine on her eyes, but it was soon gone, as she left the counter and floated to the window.

"Where are you goin'?" He called behind her.

"Let's just say that my errands are not done yet." She replied, turning black and sliding out of the window again.

With a weird grin on his face, he turned around, only to face a dripping wet Beast Boy, with a baby pink towel around his body. "What's with that face?" The shape-shifter asked.

"Nah, nothin'…" Cyborg mumbled, making his way to the bathroom.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Gotham sure did seem quite a lot bigger than what Raven remembered. And definitely much, much darker. The whole city had a gloomy aura that made Raven feel tense and constantly on edge. No wonder Robin was a good deal broody himself. How could he not be, living in a city like that?

She had flown over the city for a couple of hours trying to find any sign of Robin but in vain, as she couldn't spot anything and, well, even if Robin was out on patrol or action, he was perfect in camouflaging himself. However, Raven was very determined to find Robin tonight and she wouldn't give up, so she thought that maybe it was time to try a new trick she had come up with. She did want to meditate before diving into unknown waters first, but she didn't have much time to waste. It was already getting dark and she had to fly home too. So, losing no time, she folded her legs, taking her meditating stance and floating several meters high up Gotham. "Azarath. Opinor. Metrion. Locus. Zinthos. Ostendo." She pronounced clearly and focused her mind on Robin; how he looked, how she felt him, how she thought of him and her mind felt as if it was a radar, working with psychic pulses, which, like dark waves, scanned the city. It wasn't too comfortable for her to feel like she was wheezing around the whole place in mere seconds but she was on a mission. She didn't know for how long she was scanning, but soon –she hoped, at least, most of the city turned black in her mind and the western suburbs seemed to 'shine', specifically a place at the north of them. She opened her eyes and let her head rest for a moment, to get rid of that spinning sensation. She was satisfied at how it had turned out; she didn't expect to be able to pinpoint him exactly, and the result she had was more than enough for the first time ever. As soon as she felt quite alright, she flew as quickly as she could towards the west and the place she had seen, losing height as she approached to see more clearly. Luck seemed to be on her side, as not much time later, her eyes spotted the familiar caped shadow at a barely-lit alleyway. She spiraled down, landing right behind him with a 'whoosh' sound and Robin, quick as ever, span around, shooting one of his 'birdarangs' at her. Luckily, Raven knew him quite well, so she had turned into her soul-self, allowing the weapon to shoot straight through her.

"Raven?!" He said in surprise.

"Robin?!" She replied in sarcastic surprise.

"What are you doing here?" He asked frowning.

"I'm here for a little chat."

"I don't have time for this, Raven."

"Make some." Raven ordered, her face telling him that she'd never take 'no' as an answer. Robin sighed.

In no more than ten minutes, they were sitting at the edge of a multistoried building, the wind gently shuffling their capes.

"So? What is it?" Robin asked.

"Oh, I don't know," Raven said ironically, "just came to see how's life."

Robin exhaled deeply and turned his gaze on the hectic avenue beneath his feet. "I know what you're here for…"

"Good thing you're smart."

"I haven't replied because I haven't come up with an answer yet."

"What makes it so hard for you to decide?"

"The fact that I'm torn exactly in half, with absolutely no idea of where to lean more at."

"Look, Robin. I'm not here to convince you to come with us."

"And what are you here for, then?"

"To help you."

"Help me?"

"Aren't friends supposed to do that?"

"…Yes."

"So I'm here to help you make that decision. We cannot spend any more days waiting on you, as you can't spend more days in pointless dilemma either."

"You're right."

"Say you came with us. Why would you do that?"

"Because…you're my friends. We've been a team for many years, and, it's true, we didn't do much to fix the issues. We just went ahead and split. Stupid. And yes, I've missed you. That too."

"Say, now, that you stayed in Gotham. Why that?"

"It's something like the family business, really. And it's so full of issues, I always have work to do, and within a group that functions perfectly together…"

"I see. Isn't there a way to fit everything into your schedule?"

Robin shrugged. "I will still need to give priority to something over the other, and that's where the problem is."

"Well, if I may say, you're not the only member of the Gotham Squad, Robin. I'd say the city's quite covered in heroes…"

"Yes, I know, but I still call the shots on many operations."

"Would those missions fail if someone else was in charge?"

"I couldn't know for sure. In some trials, though, Batgirl was satisfying in the leader part…"

"There you have your replacement, then. If you choose the Titans, that is."

"It's risky, Raven."

"I know…"

"What if it doesn't work? What if, even if we all come together again, we still can't function properly?"

"We functioned alright and at the first misstep we acted as if it was the end of the world."

"Yes…"

"It was stupid, because, well, we've faced the end of the world and we triumphed over it, really."

"Thanks to you." Robin said, giving her a warm but timid smile.

"Don't be silly. It was thanks to you and the whole team that we were able to banish Trigon. I would have done nothing without the Titans supporting me every step of the way…"

"I guess that was one good thing we did..."

"Among plenty of others as well."

Robin nodded thoughtfully. "So, are you living together well again?"

Raven shrugged. "Just like old times."

"You and Beastie are-"

"Not anymore but it's alright, really."

"I see. Talked to Star yet?"

Raven arched an eyebrow. "How?"

"What do you mean how?"

"You don't know, do you?"

"Know what? What aren't you telling me?"

"Starfire's not here. She's gone."

"Gone as in…?"

"Back to Tamaran. I thought you knew."

Robin's eyebrows shot up. "Why is she back to Tamaran?!"

"She said she didn't have anything else to do here on Earth, after, well, you split up too."

Robin muttered some curses under his breath. "I thought she was just living incognito somewhere, but she's not even on the planet!"

"I can't blame her."

"What if she's forced to something she doesn't want to?!"

"I don't think she'd take things like that anymore. She has become quite strong-willed, I'd like to believe."

"But why did she leave?!"

"Because, Robin! Did any of us do anything to keep her here? And most of all, you? I don't know what went on between you, but she didn't seem too happy when she came to see me for goodbye."

"Raven, I…I had to let her go. I was going through many rough things and didn't want to drag her down with me."

Raven made a disapproving sound. "Are you that dense?"

"Excuse me?"

"I know I'm no relationship expert, but when you're with someone, you're in it for good and bad periods. And you're not alone, you need to let that person be with you in every way. By sending her away for that, well, it's like she doesn't mean that much to you. That you face your problems alone and leave her out of your life."

"But I did it for her. It was for the best."

"Was it really?"

Robin sighed. "…I don't know."

"You should have let her be part of your life, even when problematic. Starfire lives to help others, and most of all you, her…special someone." Raven said in her monotonous, coarse voice, wondering how all this fluffy chat came to her so effortlessly. Maybe, subconsciously, she had given it enough thought when she was alone, and maybe, now that she was seeing things as an outside observer, she saw it more clearly than when she was involved and God knew, those romantic feelings were the ones that caused the biggest mess in her head. She knew that normally, she was in no position to ask or chat over her friends' love life, but she was aware that Robin and Starfire were very important to each other and their break-up had left them both quite hurt. She didn't like seeing her friends like that, not when they were trying to patch things up and make them work.

"We need to get her back." Robin said decisively.

"Oh, so _we _need to get her back?"

Robin gave her a look of happy defeat. "There are some things that you just can't help, I suppose…"

Raven half-smiled. "Don't worry, Robin. Everything will be fine."

"That sounds so un-Raven."

"I too have my good days. Don't mess it up now!"

Robin laughed shortly. "I had no such intention! I promise!"

Raven got up. "Seems like my work here is done."

"Seems like it." Robin said, following her up. "I need to head back, then. I guess I'll see you soon."

Raven simply nodded and turned around, to fly away. Right before she was about to head off, she spoke. "Robin?"

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you're back. It wouldn't be the same without you."

"I'm…glad to be back, I think. And, Raven? Thank you."

Raven just huffed and flew off.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

When Raven glided into the Tower again, she found Cyborg and Beast Boy finishing up a video game, and a part of her was happy that nothing seemed to had changed.

"Raven!" Beast Boy exclaimed with shiny eyes. "I haven't seen you all day!"

"Yes. Luckily." Raven replied and Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at her.

"Where were you, Rae?" Cyborg asked with a warm smile, which Raven seemed to appreciate a little more than she used to.

"I was…Gotham-dwelling."

"Found anything interesting in Gotham?"

"Did you find Robin?" Beast Boy asked excitedly.

"I did."

"Aaaaand?"

"We had a talk."

"Come on, Raven!" Beast Boy urged impatiently. "Spill the beans already!"

"He's coming back."

"Oh, yeah!" Beast Boy shouted, jumping high and high-fived Cyborg, who smiled genuinely.

"Booyah!" He said giggling and felt a strange urge to hug Raven, but restrained himself. "How did you do it, Rae?"

"I didn't do anything. Just asked the right questions."

"It doesn't matter!" Beast Boy chirped. "Robin's coming back, Robin's coming back, Robin's coming back!" He sang.

"But…" Raven said and they turned quiet, "you'd better prepare for a trip."

"What trip?"

"A space trip."

000-000-000-000

A few hours later, Raven found herself swirling in bed, unable to find some rest. It wasn't magic the cause of her unrest, nor the fact that she had used her magic in a new spell for the first time. It was something different, other than her powers and her mind control. Or maybe…maybe it was about her mind control; her brain didn't seem to perceive things exactly as she did some months or a year ago. Something was just a bit…off. What horrified her a bit was the fact that she felt that this all was a bit too familiar -she had felt this way before, and she suspected when and…with _whom_. Yes! That…That was it. Her eyes were open wide, as her face was a mask of terror underneath her blankets. It couldn't be happening….Yet it was. And she would be an idiotic fool to pretend it didn't, as she knew better than to let her feelings loose or ignore their existence. She had been awake for quite some time now and never, not in a single moment, had her mind let the thought of a very specific robotic man drift away. She recognized the symptoms; it was a 'knot' she felt back when _he _had asked her to guess how he felt; it was fuzzy in her stomach when she saw _him _smile at her tonight; she did feel agitated whenever Beast Boy appeared when she was alone with _him. _

"Damn it to hell!" She shouted, shooting up, sending her blankets flying to the opposite wall. She brought her legs close, rested her head on her knees, purple hair falling around her, and took long, deep breaths. It wasn't that bad, right? It was, after all, only a fellow Titan, her friend and her ex's friend too…Who was she kidding? It was bad, and especially when she had no idea what to do, what to pursue and how to handle everything. Somewhere along her confusion, she sensed her pillows getting magically lifted without her doing it consciously, and so she knew she had to meditate.

"It's just a stupid crush, it's just a stupid crush, it's just a stupid crush…" She kept whispering to herself, taking her meditating position. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She said clearly and drifted to the depths of her mind, hoping she could find some answers and put everything under control. For now.

***Yes, I know, not too much CyRae here BUT I wanted to have a Rob and Rae moment because I think their friendship is very precious and Robin will help Raven later on, so I didn't want to have that out of the blue… Yes, their feelings are getting a bit clearer, more and more as we go by. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and please leave me some feedback! Thanks for reading!***


	7. Chapter 7

***Yes, I know, this is extremely delayed but don't be too harsh on me, I've been running around crazily with all the stuff I need to do and don't forget that to write something, you need to have the proper inspiration, and I was in some sort of…a writer's block, so please excuse me. I'm back now and I honestly hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you all incredibly much for supporting this and for waiting. Happy reading!**

**PS.: I'm no Tamaranian expert, I don't know many details on the planet, so excuse me if I make mistakes on things about the planet that have been clarified before. ***

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Ever since Robin came back to the Tower, it had been quite hectic for Cyborg. It seemed like he couldn't wait a single day to go to Tamaran and check on his precious Starfire. Though he could understand him, he wasn't too amused with all the extra work he had to put on for their jet to be ready for the space travel, especially when Beast Boy had updated their videogame collection and his spare time was just enough to get a breather between fixes on the jet.

That breather, though, was enough for him to notice that everyone was back to normal, but Raven was a bit off. He didn't know what had happened in just a couple of days to disturb her, but she was spending an awful lot of time in her room and barely ever seemed to greet him or find something to say. True, she wasn't exactly the babbly type but her demeanor was too silent, even for her own standards and Cyborg wished he knew what was happening more than anything. In between system checks and screwing and unscrewing panels on the deck, he found himself wondering about it and making wild guesses, none of which seemed reasonable at all, and so he was left with a riddle that puzzled him constantly. Many times he thought he should ask but he always decided against it, thinking he would find out on his own sooner or later.

The last weekend had flown by, and Robin had been yelling to get everything ready before Monday's sunrise, so they could get going as soon as possible. Sleepy as ever, but packed with enough coffee for the trip, the Titans boarded the jet. Robin with Raven on the front, Cyborg at the back panels and Beast Boy lounging on his seat, waiting for instructions to help if he was needed. Robin pressed some buttons, Cyborg confirmed that all of the systems were up and fully functional and soon, they took off, just as the sun began to make its appearance on the skyline.

"Estimated arrival: in five and a half hours." Robin announced.

Raven suppressed a yawn and spoke. "Please remind me why we had to begin so early?"

"Trips always begin early." Robin replied, checking something on a monitor.

"Roadtrips, when you need the sun to see properly. It's not like we'll be getting much light in outer space, Boy Wonder."

"He's just impatient!" Beast Boy said. "It's our Star we're talking about, give him a break. I mean… I would be anxious like that if it was trip to get to my…Star…" He said with a peculiar color in his voice, making everyone feel awkward, as he pinned his eyes on the back of Raven's chair.

Cyborg tensed up upon hearing him and found himself clenching his fists over the mechanical control panels. Everyone knew what he meant and he felt like shouting 'Leave her alone, she doesn't want you!'. Yet, he maintained his composure, knowing he was in no place for doing such a thing to his friend. It was Raven's business and Raven's only.

Raven felt like a small thunderbolt ran though her spine. Why, why on Earth, did he have to say such a thing? Her eyebrow twitched and she _felt _him eyeing her spot. "You lost the flight of that trip." She said monotonously, keeping her gaze fixed straight forward.

"There's always going to be a next one." Beast Boy insisted.

"There's no airport anymore." Raven spat again and Cyborg gave a smirk to himself, unclenching his fists.

"Speaking of which," Robin said, breaking the awkward discussion, "Beast Boy, check on Tamaran satellite images for any surface typhoons we need to be aware as we land."

"Right away, Captain." The shapeshifter said, weirdly giggling to himself.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

As soon as their jet landed and they disembarked, the Titans were greeted by a small squadron of guards. Robin made all the necessary introductions and was happy to realize that many of the guards remembered them from the last time they were on the planet, to help call Starfire's trap-marriage off. They accompanied them to the palace, where they were asked to wait for permission to enter.

"Not much has changed around here…" Robin said, taking a look around the entrance yard of the palace.

"Well, I doubt much of what is going on in a planet would be imprinted on a single building…" Raven said and Robin shot her an exasperated look.

Before long, the front doors opened and out came Starfire, followed by five guards. Robin's eyes widened and that look of ever-lasting adoration didn't go unnoticed by neither Raven nor Cyborg, who simultaneously turned to look at each other and nod in mutual notice.

Starfire was in her royal attire, eyeing them intensely. She had her hair in a French cut, reaching just about the level of her neck in length, and seemed to be somewhat taller too. A few silent moments passed before she decided to act, having looked at all of their faces. She jumped up and flew to them swiftly, hugging whomever was in her way first, eventually dragging all of them in a group hug.

She giggled loudly, mumbling some things along the lines of 'what are you doing here?', 'I've missed you so much, friends' and something in Tamaranian. When she let them go, she invited them inside to speak, floating over the hallways happily.

"What brings you at my planet?" She asked, when they were seated at the dining hall and waited for some local delicacies- not to the rest of the Titans' particular impatience.

"You, really." Cyborg said, jumping to the point.

"Oh, I am humbled. I notice you…have regrouped?"

"Yeah!" Beast Boy said. "But we're not fully regrouped without you, Star!"

"Um…" Starfire averted her eyes.

"Starfire, is everything here alright?" Robin asked, not knowing how to put it. He was dying to know what she had to do while on Tamaran, fearing for the worst.

"Yes, everything is absolutely fine, I assure you." The princess replied, giving him a meaningful look. "I'm back on my duties as this country's legitimate ruler."

"Single, we'd like to think." Raven said, paying attention to no subtleties.

"I am in no state of matrimony." Starfire clarified. "I would never accept a marriage over my own will now." Raven gave Robin an 'I told you so' look and he nodded.

"How are you findin' it, rulin' a country?" Cyborg asked.

"Oh, it is most challenging, friend Cyborg. I have much still to learn but I am lucky. I have many wise counselors aiding me."

"That's nice."

"Would Tamaran manage without you?" Beast Boy asked, his eyes shining.

"Are you implying that-"

"I'm implying that you need to get back to Earth and back to the Titans, duh."

"It is a difficult thing you're asking me to do, Beast Boy."

"Oh, come on. You've done it before, you can do it again!"

"We are trying to make a fresh start for Tamaran and my counselors insist that I am crucial to that effort." Starfire stated, fixing her crown.

"I bet we-"

"Starfire," Raven interrupted Beast Boy, "are we allowed to stay for some days here?"

"You are most welcome. I have already ordered some rooms to be prepared for you."

The doors opened and three people walked inside, carrying large trays of unidentifiable Tamaranian food. "Feast, friends!" Starfire exclaimed, before practically throwing herself at the dishes.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

"We need to be coordinated." Robin began when they gathered at his room to organize their 'get Starfire back' plan.

"At least she's friendly." Beast Boy said. "Hasn't changed."

"Still, she's the country's ruler now. She can't just run away, right?" Cyborg said, taking a seat on a bizarre armchair.

"She wants to come." Raven said. "She just can't."

"Can't we show her what she's missing?" Beast Boy asked. "We'll be all crazy and playful and stuff, like back at home, and she'll remember the times and want to come with us again!"

"She hasn't forgotten." Robin said. "She has other obligations now."

"Robin, you had other obligations too." Cyborg said. "What made you come back to the team?"

Robin exchanged a look with Raven and rubbed his chin. "I guess the right buttons were pressed…"

"Let's press Star's buttons too!"

"We need to have some very compiling arguments." Raven said. "The 'we all miss you so much' just isn't enough."

"Let's be clever here." Cyborg said. "I'm going to be a little straight forward, so sorry if I'm bein' indiscrete. We know that Robin's the one closest to her."

Robin frowned deeply and mumbled "Am I, anymore?"

"These things don't change so easily, man. I don't know what really went down between you, but I bet there's some stuff you'd like to tell her, right?"

Robin shrugged. "I suppose."

"Well, tell her! It might be just what she needs to hear right now."

"Like an apology or something!" Beast Boy said.

"Hey, I'm not going to play theater over there! What if I don't want to apologize?!" Robin said. "You don't know what happened, stop making assumptions!"

"He's right." Raven agreed. "Whatever went on between them is none of our business and whatever your talk might be, Robin, make sure it's honest. It will help both of you."

"I don't know if it'll work. I mean, our talk is going to be personal. I'm not going to try to convince her about anything."

"Well, why don't you try addin' some spice to the talk? Or maybe after you're done with your bit of talkin', you can pull the ace from your sleeve…"

"What ace are you talking about, Cyborg?"

"One of the things we argued about back then, was the Apokolips technology. Things are getting' dangerous. I have been findin' weapons like those in crimes everyday and just before we contacted Beast Boy, Raven and I found a giant Apokoliptic robot. A prototype, we guessed, and gathered pieces from it after we put it down."

"It is going to get big." Raven added. "And soon. This needs to be handled quickly and, well, maybe, let's say, we could use all the help we can get…?" She said meaningfully.

"You hadn't told me this!" Robin said.

"We were waiting for the group to reform to handle this properly."

"I have the pieces back at my lab." Cyborg said. "Runnin' some tests and stuff. I thought we could crosscheck our findings at some point. If you agreed to sharin' yours, at least…"

Robin sighed. "It was a mistake, not telling you, and a mistake I'm not going to make again."

"Glad to hear that." Raven said.

"So, tell her." Cyborg went on. "She might want to help."

"Alright."

"What if she can't come with us, even after that?" Beast Boy asked, pouting.

"Then, there's not much we can do." Robin said, passing his hand through his hair.

"Go." Cyborg said. "The sooner you talk, the sooner we'll know!"

"I, I'm not ready!"

"These things need to come from your heart." Beast Boy said, acting all wise and pushing Robin towards the door. "You don't need any written speeches. Just blurt whatever fluffy thing passes through your head!"

"What the-"

"Trust your instincts!" The shapeshifter opened the door. "Follow your heart!" He pushed Robin out. "She's right down this hallway." He shut the door after him. "So… Does any of you"-he looked at Raven smiling-"feel like taking a stroll around the planet?"

"I'd rather eat their food." Raven said, turning black and passing through the wall, to get to her room.

Cyborg rolled his eyes at his friend. "She'll come around…" Beast Boy said, somewhat disappointed but persistent as ever. Cyborg decided not to speak, for the best of all of them.

"Too bad we didn't bring the console along." He simply stated, changing the subject.

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Raven pushed the doors of her room's balcony open and went outside, leaning on the railing. It had a good view of the palace's gardens and the city, starting just beneath the palace's tall walls. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

Ever since that night –the one she realized what was actually going on with her, she was constantly in a state of self-restriction. Knowing she couldn't possibly indulge or attempt anything –not even understanding if she really wanted to, either, she decided to try and keep it from growing even bigger. Because just as fast as it came, it would grow. And then it'd be even harder to conceal and manage it. So, she avoided conversations with him whenever she could, and tried at all costs, not to be alone with him, because she'd get a flood of feelings that would only do harm if she were to express or act on them. He was her friend. He was a fellow Titan. He was friend to her ex. Also a fellow Titan. Her ex wanted her back. She didn't.

She sighed. Why did she have to be in such a messy situation? And why didn't seem to understand how...well, wrong it was to feel like that? Because she couldn't help but realize that whenever she happened to look at Cyborg, it felt weirdly…right. And she hated having herself feel so fluffy and infatuated with someone. It hadn't been like that with Beast Boy, though it was a crush alright. This was a different one.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of Robin and Starfire, entering the garden; Robin walked slowly, with Starfire flying by his side. They reached a bench by some weird, blue bushes and sat down. Robin hang his head low, fiddling with his fingers. Starfire looked at him longingly and Raven decided to head back inside. She would very much dislike it if their chat was cut short because they felt like they were being watched. She fell on her bed and stared at the painted ceiling.

Some time later, she guessed around an hour, she heard an impatient knock on her door. She dragged herself over, opening the door just a notch and feeling her whole body tense up upon seeing a radiant Cyborg, grinning at her widely.

"What is it?" She asked.

Cyborg giggled goofily and easily pushed the door open, inviting himself in. "Veni, viso, victi!" He said and Raven frowned in confusion.

"You mean, veni, vidi, vici?"

"That thing that Emperor said, the 'I came, I saw, I conquered' stuff…"

"So… You have something to announce?" Raven asked, skipping a Latin lecture.

"Yeah!" He exclaimed, looking at her excitedly. He caught himself thinking she looked so nice, even though that was nowhere near what he had to say. "T'was a success!"

"You mean…she's…"

"Starfire's back on the team!"

"That was quick!" Raven said, smiling timidly. "How?"

"Our ace. She said they'd been havin' some Apokolips stuff on here too and took it upon herself to deal with it for her planet's safety and such."

"And what about her position?"

"Robin said that she said that she was going to speak with the council for a suitable replacement."

"I'm glad."

"I'm glad we decided to do this, Rae!" He said, grinning again. "Glad we bumped into each other that night!" Raven couldn't help but smile back, not knowing what else to do.

Cyborg caught himself being in a state of bliss; the team was back, they were all alright, they had cases to work on and he was, at the moment, with one of the most important people in his life. He felt as if he could burst, and did the first thing that came to mind; he snatched Raven into a breathtaking hug.

Raven's eyes widened when she was pressed to his wide chest, and, instinctively, she wrapped her hands around his waist, wishing with all of her might that her cheeks didn't betray how flushed she felt. Cyborg let go, pushing her just a bit further away from his embrace, having his hands on her shoulders. She sure had a peculiar look on her face. His gaze jumped from her shiny eyes to her lips and back, as he struggled with the fierce urge to kiss the latter. Grabbing on to his reason, though, he simply approached her to him and planted a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Thanks…" He mumbled for some reason, swiftly opened the door and left, leaving Raven to stand like a statue where he left her, not even blinking.

He panted, taking long strides to his bedroom. For some reason, though he realized how complicated his situation was, he smiled. Who would believe he had actually fallen for Raven? And fallen, he realized as well, not so lightly either…

The next morning found them both anxiously trying to find things to get busy with, from chatting with Starfire about Tamaran's politic situation, to cleaning the jet. Luckily, Starfire and her council had many things to appoint them with, since her departure needed to find the country ready and the people aware of it. So they discussed about communications, public speeches, information on Apokolips and helped Starfire make all the needed arrangements. Though Raven wasn't too happy to have a public speech appointed to her, she accepted it with no complaints whatsoever; she got busy with anything, anything at all, to keep herself from going over last night's incident, that had already kept her from getting a full night's sleep. Little did she know that Cyborg was in the exact same situation, offering to boost the planet's defense weaponry, from having to hang around the palace, risking meeting her before he had a chance to make up his mind on what he wanted to do. Because the issue, he found, was indeed of quite an importance to him, and he'd hate it if he messed anything up before it had even begun.

***Here it is, then! The group's officially back together and ready for its pilot mission on the next chapter. Of course, no mission will be our main subject there… Stay tuned! Please leave me some feedback on the chapter and sorry for the delay. I sincerely hope the next chapter will be up sooner than this one. Thanks for reading!***


	8. Chapter 8

***Happy New Year, dear readers! I hope this year proves awesome for all of us!**

**Without further ado, I give you this chapter, with hopes that you will enjoy it and that you will leave me a small comment by the end of it. Thanks for reading!***

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

When they landed on Earth, though Starfire had been somewhat sulky over her leaving her planet 'alone' over their trip back –no matter how hard the Titans tried to convince her that the planet was left in more than capable hands, she seemed like she had forgotten everything in a single instant, and squeeled like a child on Christmas day.

"Oh, the Tower!" She said in a high-pitched voice as she flew circles over the building. The rest of the Titans shared a short snort as they entered the house and Starfire soon followed, carrying her enormous bag from the jet. She was anxious to begin redecorating her room.

She soon found out, though, that Robin was anxious to get the team up and running in no time, since she hadn't been there for their initial get-together training sessions, and so her schedule was filled with simulation fights, cooperating each time with a different Titan. She didn't whine the least bit, however, as she was enjoying being back more than anything. Fighting crime was, besides, what she was brought back to do.

Their first day back had been uneventful. Robin thought it was for good, since they would get more time to practice and bond again, even though deep down, he was peckish for some action. Just as he was ready to call Cyborg and Beast Boy for their mid-day session, the alarm sound echoed around the Tower and they all rushed to the front screen. Their camera showed images of four gigantic man-like robots pillaging downtown.

"Rob, I've seen one of those before!" Cyborg called. "Rae and I fought one some time ago."

"The Apokolips inspired one?" Robin asked, agitated, urging them to move outside.

"Yeah! I found a weak spot on the base of their neck."

"That's where we'll aim then!"

"Hold on." Raven said, putting on her hood for the flight to the city center. "You don't know if they're the same. The one we fought was probably a prototype. They might have fixed the weak spot."

Robin wore his motorbike helmet. "We will check on that one then. If they don't, we take them down the classic way."

"Aye, Captain!" Beast Boy said, grinning goofily as they set off.

OOO-OOO-OOO

They were all sitting at the table, exactly the way they had sat down that day. Quiet, lost in thought. Robin broke the silence once again, with a short, timid but honest, laugh. Starfire followed with a loud one, until they were all laughing and grinning. Even Raven was giving them her humble giggle –to Cyborg's building-up adoration.

"Yes!" Robin exclaimed. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"Were we awesome or what?!" Cyborg said, punching Beast Boy's shoulder lightly.

"Indeed you were, friends!" Starfire said. "Our collaboration in the battlefield was most satisfying!"

"Doesn't it bother you, though?" Raven asked, making some of them frown and shaking the blissful atmosphere off.

"What, exactly?" Robin asked.

"That two of them had a weak spot and two didn't."

"Maybe they didn't have the time to fix them all." Cyborg said.

"What was rushing them?" Raven asked.

"That is a good point." Robin agreed.

"We did bring one of them along. We should be able to examine it, right?" Beast Boy asked.

"Yeah, I'll start right away." Cyborg said. "Don't know what I'll find, though."

"I can't shake the feeling that this was a diversion, off." Raven said.

"Mm." Robin said, nodding. "We'll have to entertain that possibility."

"Beast Boy," Raven said, "why don't you run some background checks on any thefts, burglaries, and other noted incidents during the time we were engaged with the robots?"

"Sure. I'll tell you if I run into anything."

"Rob, care to join me and the robot corpses downstairs?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah."

"I'll get to the checks, then." Beast Boy said and got up, following the boys outside.

"Friend Raven!" Starfire said when they were left alone. "Can I have a personal discussion with you, please?"

Raven shrugged. "What is it about?"

"I have no other friend of the female sex. I require your opinion on the situation between me and Robin."

"I'm listening."

Starfire sighed. "Would you find the formation of a relationship a profitable idea?"

"What I think isn't important. It's what you want that matters."

"Yes, but…"

"But what?"

"What if it does not…'work out', as you, Earthlings, say?"

"Well, was it working out a year ago, when we were a team again?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"Have your feelings towards him changed?"

"I'm still harboring very strong and erotic emotions for Robin."

"He is too." Raven stated surely.

"So, you think we should be together again?"

"Obviously. What's the point in you having a crush on each other and doing nothing about it?"

"You are right."

"Oh, am I?" Raven said, arching an eyebrow.

"Of course. Life is for living. And I want to live my life with Robin now."

"Kudos."

"Thank you, friend Raven! Your words were very enlightening!"

"Aha."

"What about you, then?"

"W-What about me?" Raven asked, feeling her heart speed up. What did Starfire know?

"How are you sentimentally? Will you date Beast Boy again?"

"What?! No!"

"I didn't mean to agitate you! Forgive me! I just thought you might, um, want him back and-"

"No, I don't want him back. At all."

"Okay, okay friend Raven. I want only the best for you and I will support you no matter what you choose to do."

"Thanks?"

"You are most welcome!" Starfire grinned. "I cannot wait to announce my decision to Robin!"

"Has he asked you to get back together?"

"He implied many things when we discussed in Tamaran. Some things very intimate, friend Raven. I believe he will be happy to know we can be together again."

"I agree."

Starfire giggled. "I'm delighted to be back here!"

Raven half-smiled. "Me too."

OOO-OOO-OOO-OOO

Raven would have never expected that a simple discussion with Starfire would cause her such unrest. She really scolded herself for allowing so many things to disturb her sleep during the last few days.

It wasn't the actual point of the discussion that had troubled her; quite the contrary. She was routing for Starfire and Robin to get together; they loved each other and it was only natural. What was going through her mind, was a thing she had said and how easily it had slipped her tongue.

_What's the point in you having a crush on each other and doing nothing about it?_

She had a hunch. If she could make a guess, she'd say that her feelings towards Cyborg weren't unrequited. He must have been experiencing something like she was, too. She felt it when he dragged her into that embrace back in Tamaran. It was…different. And that made Raven tense up. Would he do anything? Would he even want to? Did he realize that their situation was, indeed, somewhat complicated? Staring out of the cold living room windows, she let a small sigh escape her lips. It was just a hunch. Nothing certain, nothing important, in the end.

Only the dim light of the full moon lit the room, painting everything in shades of grey. It was eerily silent around the room and not even the brush of wind disturbed the sea around the Tower. Raven enjoyed that peculiar tranquility; nothing moved, nothing changed, nothing made a sound. Nothing except for the…door sliding open in the middle of the night.

Startled, she turned her head around and made out the figure of no one else but Cyborg underneath the door frame. She swallowed nervously.

Cyborg knew she would have been there. Nights like this weren't for the rooftop. She enjoyed looking at the moon from the wide living room windows, for some reason. Maybe she felt cozier inside, who knew. He had brought something with him; two cupcakes, bought from the best cupcake shop in town. He wanted them to celebrate their victory on successfully bringing the Titans together and had actually put together a small speech but… How could he focus on speeches at that time? It was dark, it quiet, no one was around and Raven looked absolutely stunning, with the moonlight reflected upon her already-grey skin. He couldn't hold himself. He carelessly tossed the cupcake box on the counter and took some strong and quick steps towards her.

In such dense darkness, Cyborg resembled a ruthless wild animal, fixed on his pray; forceful and dominant. She should have been on edge, she should have been confused, she should have been wary. But no. All she was, was curious.

As soon as Raven was within reach, Cyborg placed his hands on the sides of her face, hastily bringing her closer. He gave her wide eyes a split-of-a-second glance and strongly pressed his lips on hers. She didn't react for the seconds he kissed her. He let go, pulling his face just some inches away, still holding hers. Her eyes scanned him, sparkly as ever. He snorted and slowly approached her lips again, until she closed the distance between them, by kissing him back. He opened his mouth slightly, enough to allow her tongue to explore his lips and felt her wrap her hands around his neck. His hands moved to her waist, gently caressing the sides of her body as they went, and he dragged her closer. She smelled and tasted amazing and he would have never expected her kiss to be so intense.

When they slowly drew back, he ran his hand over her spine and through her hair, dragging her into a sweet hug. He planted his face between her neck and her shoulder, inhaling through her skin and her hair. Raven's hand drew circles over his chest, as her breathing stabilized.

"I knew it…" He whispered, moving a bit away.

"Knew what?" Raven asked, not knowing why she wanted to burst into an awkward laugh.

"That you'd be a hell of a kisser…" He replied, snatching her hand and moving to the couch, placing her on his lap. Raven remained silent, laying her head on his chest, keeping her eyes wide in wonder of what was _actually _happening. "Raven, I…"

"Mm?"

"If it isn't obvious by now, I think I might have a crush on you!" He said, laughing a bit and grinning goofily.

"It is a messy situation, isn't it?" Raven said, exhaling slowly.

"I know but…I couldn't resist."

"You know… I'm glad you didn't."

Cyborg caressed her shoulder. "I want you to be with me, Rae." He said, knowing that he should be clear with her from the very beginning. What he felt was strong and there'd be no point in hiding it.

Raven pulled herself upward, to turn to look at him. "Cyborg…"

"I know, I know. There's Beast Boy and the team in the middle…"

"Yes…"

"But I'm sure they can understand if we…explain it to them."

"Will they, really?"

"Look, I can't pressure you. If you don't want to be with me too, that's…fine, I s'pose."

"I want." Raven blurred out, surprised at herself and at how effortlessly the answer came to her. "But maybe we should give it some time. To settle things with the…guys."

Cyborg nodded. "Yeah. You're right. It can wait." Raven nodded back and Cyborg smiled at her. "You're amazing, you know that?"

"Come on, now, Cy…"

"No, I mean it!"

"Yeah…"

Since words wouldn't make Raven understand just how much he wanted her at that moment, Cyborg would have to resort to actions like the one before. Smoothly, he smirked at her, running one finger over her bottom lip and kissing her again. More talking could only do the harm now. He wouldn't want to ruin the rest of the night, when they could spend it wordlessly, with their mouths engaged elsewhere. Talk would come when they would have something more to say. Now, they didn't.

At the back of her mind, Raven noticed how her sentimental situation was…stable. She didn't have any magic outbreaks, this all felt _right. _Unbelievably, surprisingly right.

***At last! Hahah! I sincerely hope you liked it, my darlings! It is a short one, indeed, but I wanted to end it with that scene. The next one will be more…talkative. Thanks for reading!***


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